ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Boundary particle method

Okay, imagine you are playing with sand at the beach. You take a handful of sand and drop it on the ground. The sand particles start to spread out and form a shape, maybe a circle or a square.

Now imagine scientists want to study how the sand particles move and interact with each other. But there are billions of sand particles and it's too difficult and time-consuming to keep track of each one.

So instead, they use the boundary particle method. They focus on the outer edge of the shape made by the sand particles. They imagine this edge as a series of tiny dots or particles that move and interact with each other.

By studying how these edge particles move, scientists can make predictions about how the larger group of sand particles will behave.

This method can also be used for other things, like studying the flow of fluids or gases. Instead of looking at each individual molecule or atom, scientists can focus on the boundary of the fluid or gas and imagine it as a group of particles interacting with each other.

Overall, the boundary particle method is a way for scientists to simplify and model complex systems by focusing on the boundary or edge of an object.