23.11.2014 Views

Single-Particle Electrodynamics - Assassination Science

Single-Particle Electrodynamics - Assassination Science

Single-Particle Electrodynamics - Assassination Science

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

putations: they are simply algebraic manipulations (with some—but not too<br />

much—subtlety required to handle the three-vector gradients and integrations),<br />

more suited to a computer than a human. (This is to be contrasted<br />

with the the calculation of the Taylor series coëfficients, which is almost<br />

indecipherable if done the naïve way, but most manageable if iterated order<br />

by order.) Thus, it was suggested by the author’s supervisor, Professor<br />

McKellar, that a computer algebra program such as Mathematica be used to<br />

perform these calculations.<br />

Investigations were made into this possibility. Two major obstacles were<br />

found. Firstly, it did not appear that Mathematica possessed sufficient inherent<br />

intelligence to handle three-vectors in the abstract way required for<br />

these calculations. This could, of course, be programmed in, but that would<br />

require a substantial programming investment, in a language the author was<br />

totally unfamiliar with, at a very late stage of the game. Secondly, it was<br />

not clear how the output of Mathematica’s manipulations could be compared<br />

with the existing hand-computed results, on the one hand; or integrated<br />

into the LaT E Xable body of this thesis, on the other; without a further substantial<br />

programming (or painful transcription) process. Investigation into<br />

other available computer algebra systems showed possibility for alleviating<br />

the first problem, but the second remained. There was also the logistical<br />

problem that, while Mathematica is widely used throughout the University,<br />

and hence help and support is readily available, the use of other packages<br />

would be a major task, undertaken essentially alone, and from scratch.<br />

For these reasons, the author decided to write a simplified computer algebra<br />

system, that would be powerful enough to perform the computations<br />

actually required for this thesis, without further bells or whistles; and, equally<br />

important, the system would output the results using exactly the same macros<br />

that the author has used to prepare the remainder of this thesis. Familiarity<br />

with the two obvious language contenders, ANSI C and C++, yielded a<br />

difficult choice; despite the elegance of C++ for such tasks, ANSI C was ulti-<br />

413

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!