Discovering your inner DOS (Part 2. Background runs and batch files)

Before reading this material, be sure to read the Part 1 of this series. In this post, I’ll show how to use batch files for intensive number-crunching codes like ours. There are two benefits:

You can automate repetitive tasks.
Your computer can perform complex sequences of operations autonomously while you are working on another task or off to [...]

Discovering your inner DOS (Part 1: The terminal)

I recently heard from a customer who felt that Windows was beyond all control and understanding. He dreamed of switching to Linux in a brighter world. This act of desperation wouldn’t be necessary because buried inside every Windows computer is a DOS computer waiting to get out. It is possible to exert a degree of control [...]

How do I know it works?

Our code packages have extensive features and attack difficult physics solutions. It would be unrealistic to imply that anyone could learn a package by spending an afternoon pushing buttons. On the other hand, although the codes are big, need they be beyond your understanding and control? Are they unapproachable black boxes that require complete and unyielding [...]

Setting a time step for electrons in a strong magnetic field

The determinants of accuracy in orbit calculations with Trak and OmniTrak are 1) the quality of the field solution(s) and 2) the choice of time step. In this note, I will discuss how to pick a time step and check the accuracy with emphasis on the case where an electron moves in a strong magnetic field.

There [...]

Three-dimensional models of biological structures

We recently received an inquiry about the feasibility of modeling biological structures such as the cochlea of the human ear with the AMaze programs. The assumption is that slice data (such as an MRI scan) is available to define the morphology of the structure. It turns out that such modeling would be straightforward with MetaMesh, which [...]