Overview of UPSCALE software

UPSCALE uses both commercial and locally written software. Here we give an overview of some of the major applications. The listing is divided by categories.

Data Analysis

Not included in this section is the Experimental Data Analyst, which is in the Mathematica section. All the programs were written locally.

• csi: cubic spline interpolation of a data set.
• cspline: cubic spline fit of a data set, with spline-on-spline capabilities.
• fit: least-square fit a data set to polynomials. Allows for errors in both coordinates, returns errors in the fitted parameters, graphical representations of the fit result.
• fourier: Fourier transform or inverse transform a data set. Includes many options for real or imaginary input or output, suppression of aliases, etc.
• gauss: fit a spectrum to multiple Gaussians. Includes options for quadratic backgrounds and experimental errors in the dependent variable, returns errors in the fitted parameters.
• graph: graph a data set. Allows for errors in both coordinates.

Information

The information sub-system of UPSCALE is a World Wide Web (WWW) application. Primary access is via the "home page":

http://www.upscale.utoronto

Access is provided to pages for various courses and laboratories, and the University of Toronto card catalog. In addition, we provide the following WWW applications:

• Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition. Written and maintained by Computing in the Humanities and Social Sciences (CHASS), the University of Toronto.
• HyperNews. Originally written by Daniel LaLiberte et al., National Center for Supercomputing Applications, University of Illinois, our version has been modified by UPSCALE.
• Instrument specifications for most common apparatus in our undergraduate laboratories. Written by UPSCALE.
• Nuclear constants for virtually every known isotope. Written by UPSCALE.
• A periodic table, written by Academic Computing Services at the University of Kansas, slightly modified by UPSCALE.
• Solutions to problem set, tests and examinations for selected courses. Written by UPSCALE.
• Conversion of units. Based on the well-known UNIX units program, the WWW interface was written by UPSCALE.

Mathematica

Particularly for our upper-year students, Mathematica from Wolfram Research is playing an increasing role in our educational program. Our two courses in Computational Physics are based on Mathematica, and the program is used by an increasing number of upper-year courses for required problem sets. Also, many students find this software of great use in doing traditional problem sets and laboratory data analysis. A growing collection of Mathematica packages, both locally written and from other sources, is available. Here we list some of the major packages.

• Experimental Data Analyst. Written in collaboration with Wolfram Research, this is a major package providing tools and tutorials on data analysis in the physical sciences and engineering.
• Feynman. A package on calculating Feynman diagrams, written by the Universitaet of Wuerzberg.
• lorenz. Investigating the Lorenz attractor, with provisions for Fourier transforms, Poincarè sections, Lyapunov exponents, etc. Locally written.
• NuclearProperties. Binding energies, mass excess, and atomic mass for over 1600 nuclear isotopes. Locally written, and also available from the MathSource archive maintained by Wolfram Research.
• Optica. A major package on optical ray tracing. Written by Optica Software Inc., published by Wolfram Research.
• pendulum. Solving the physical pendulum in a Hamiltonian formulation. Various orders of Runge-Kutta algorithms may be chosen, and the support point of the pendulum can be forced to oscillate vertically which drives the motion into a chaotic condition. Locally written, and also available from the MathSource archive maintained by Wolfram Research.
• SignalProcessing. A large package on signal processing techniques, written by Georgia Tech.

Testing

UPSCALE provides programs to pre-check laboratory data for the Boyle's Law and the Free Fall experiments in the I Year Laboratory. In addition, a test on error analysis administered by computer is required of all students in the I Year Laboratory.

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