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Embedded atom model
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<p>In <a href="/facts/Computational_chemistry/KyuCgRV3">computational chemistry</a> and <a href="/facts/Computational_physics/1ltJ109X">computational physics</a>, the embedded atom model, embedded-atom method or EAM, is an approximation describing the energy between atoms and is a type of <a href="/facts/Interatomic_potential/EgJjsSeh">interatomic potential</a>. The energy is a function of a sum of functions of the separation between an atom and its neighbors. In the original model, by Murray Daw and Mike Baskes, the latter functions represent the electron density. The EAM is related to the second moment approximation to <a href="/facts/Tight_binding_(physics)/1Iq7SSzo">tight binding</a> theory, also known as the Finnis-Sinclair model. These models are particularly appropriate for metallic systems. Embedded-atom methods are widely used in <a href="/facts/Molecular_dynamics/yR3DNt6U">molecular dynamics</a> simulations. </p>