Monte Carlo Method

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What Does Monte Carlo Method Mean?

The Monte Carlo method is a mathematical procedure or algorithm in which random numbers are run through some model or simulation to observe the properties of large sets of results.

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Techopedia Explains Monte Carlo Method

Monte Carlo method algorithms are used in many different kinds of cases to analyze projects or models that are not responsive to deterministic analysis. For example, the Monte Carlo method can be used to look at the dispersion of liquids or gases to evaluate the structural properties of chemical elements or to help determine the probable outputs for a set of games or processes.

The Monte Carlo method is generally attributed to Stanislaw Ulam, who worked at Los Alamos Laboratory in New Mexico in the 1940s. It was named after a casino because of the application of this type of algorithm to games of chance. It has since become an important part of mathematical analysis and was programmed into John von Neumann’s ENIAC computer shortly after its discovery.

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Margaret Rouse
Technology Expert
Margaret Rouse
Technology Expert

Margaret is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical business audience. Over the past twenty years, her IT definitions have been published by Que in an encyclopedia of technology terms and cited in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine, and Discovery Magazine. She joined Techopedia in 2011. Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages.