Essential freeware for scientists

There is an wonderful variety of high-quality freeware available on the Internet for scientists and engineers. This is the set that we use on all our computers. We’ve tested each program for utility, reliability and safety.

HP41 C calculator. On-screen calculators don’t usually provide the satisfaction of a real one. This simulation is such a good copy [...]

Tell a story

When I was young I dreamed of being a writer. Unfortunately, I became aware that a great deal of literature had to do with the quirks and comings-and-goings of people, a subject of which I had only a passing interest. Nonetheless, my dream and the good advice of Mr. Saperstein stayed with me, so I endeavored [...]

RPN

For the last two months I’ve been working intensively on a new software product, FE Builder. It’s a interactive shell to help scientists and engineers build custom finite-element applications. FE Builder takes care of 3D mesh generation and postprocessing, allowing researchers to concentrate on the physics of their solution. A key component is the fully-conformable postprocessor, [...]

The fastest computer, revisited

Numerical calculations of electromagnetic fields are labor intensive, especially in three dimensions. I often hear from customers contemplating a new computer purchase who want to know what is the fastest machine. I find it difficult to give a useful answer because I am just as confused by the cloudy specifications issued by chip and computer manufacturers [...]

Comparing Magnum to Maxwell3D and CST EM Studio

At Field Precision, we face an image problem. Potential customers often assume that because our competitors charge so much more for their 3D magnetic-field codes that their products are better. Therefore, I always enjoy impartial benchmark comparisons because Magnum performs equal to or better than the alternatives.

I recently received a report from Jason Wang at the [...]