Amorphous carbon films about 20 mn thick are used by the computer industry as protective coatings on magnetic disks. The structure and function of this family of materials at the atomic level is poorly understood. The growth and properties of a:C and a:CH films 1 to 5 nm thick has been simulated using classical molecular dynamics and a bond-order potential with torsional terms. Studies of quenched melts that verify the ability of this potential to reproduce known features of extended structures of carbon in two and three dimensions are briefly described. In molecular dynamics calculations the incident species were neutral atoms C, or C and H with energies up to 100 eV. The stoichiometry, chemical bonding and distribution functions within the films were analyzed using IBM`s Power Visualization System for different incident gas energies. Microscopic features such as multiple ring structures, including planar graphitic structures, were easily identified. Some preliminary studies of the nanotribology of the a:C films are described, including nano-indentation and sliding in contact with a rigid probe
