Python is a computer programming language that is rapidly gaining popularity throughout the sciences A Student's Guide to Python for Physical Modeling aims to help you the student teach yourself enough of the Python programming language to get started with physical modeling You will learn how to install an open-source Python programming environment & use it to accomplish many common scientific computing tasks importing exporting & visualizing data; numerical analysis; & simulation No prior programming experience is assumed This tutorial focuses on fundamentals & introduces a wide range of useful techniques including Basic Python programming & scripting Numerical arrays Two- & three-dimensional graphics Monte Carlo simulations Numerical methods including solving ordinary differential equations Image processing Animation Numerous code samples & exercises--with solutions--illustrate new ideas as they are introduced Web-based resources also accompany this guide & include code samples data sets & more