Introduction

Abstract

The Monte Carlo method originated in the 1940s, just when computer technology was getting off the ground. It was a tool that allowed researches to solve very complicated problems that they could not solve analytically. The tool required a large stream of random numbers to have available on call, a requirement that previously was prohibitive because of the lack of high-speed data processing. The 1940s was the early days of data processing and the beginning of computers. As computer technology improved, mathematicians developed algorithms to generate random numbers in large quantities as needed. At the same time, practitioners of all sorts discovered the power of this new tool in problem solving. Special simulation languages and simulation software systems became available to allow the user quicker and easier ways to perform simulations on a computer. The chapter describes the basic fundamentals of the Monte Carlo method. Included here is a review on each of the remaining Chaps. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11, of the book.