3 D  Graphics

There are number of problems that cannot readily be described without the introduction of graphics. They allow mathematical concepts to be displayed in a form readily understood.

The research work described in this web site likewise would not have been possible without the concurrent development of a 3D ray trace graphics package.

For example, surveys suggest that everyone in the community has one chance in two of being misdiagnosed at some time in their life owing to the nature of radiography. The first application was to enhance radiographic images thus allowing radiologists to more accurately diagnose. 

The research program then turned to astronomy to determine why globular clusters didn't collapse. As an aside galactic collisions were also modeled as was a model of the postulated universe, and using a gravity model the 'age' of the universe was calculated, giving some rather startling results.

In order to check the accuracy of that project the orbits of the planets were calculated into the near distant future, i.e., 500,000 years. When that work achieved the same accuracy as the United States Naval Observatory the research was concluded. The results of some of that work can be found in the section on Astronomy.

The research program turned to economics to better understand the unemployment problem and inflation, and the graphs showing the labor market, and unemployment, were drawn with the graphics package.

Environmental models wre also construced, eventually giving rise to the doubts about the efficacy of solar and other forms of renewable energy.

All of these projects and models, from the tiniest subatomic particle to the postulated universe, can be described in three dimensions and rotated or viewed from any viewpoint.

The program is, as it's name suggests, a full 3D graphics package. The user describes his eyepoint outside the 'window' of the computer screen. The object to be viewed is described by a series of quadratics, or in simple cases, first degree equations on the other side of the 'window'. It is only by using this technicque that one can achieve real accuracy in the display.

Motion can also be simulated,, and movies of the results can be made, for example the population growth in Australia elsewhere on this web site, also done with the graphics package.

In order to achieve the required accuracy the program uses double precision floating point, or long arithmetic throughout. After all, why do things by halves.

Contact:  georgebl@iprimus.com.au