OpenPh - Numerical Physics Library

UPB Scientific Bulletin, Series A: Applied Mathematics and Physics, volume 68, number 1, pp: 73-78, 2006 Numerical physics has gained a lot of importance in the last decade, its efficiency being motivated and sustained by the growth of computational power. This paper presents a concept that is to be developed in the next few years: OpenPh. OpenPh is a numerical physics library that makes use of the advantages of both open source software and MATLAB programming. Its aim is to deliver the instruments for providing numerical and graphical solutions for various physics problems. It has a modular structure, allowing the user to add new modules to the existing ones and to create its own modules according to its needs, being virtually unlimited extendable. The modules of OpenPh are implemented using MATLAB engine because it is the best solution used in engineering and science, providing a wide range of optimized methods to accomplish even the toughest jobs. Current version of OpenPh includes two modules, the first one providing tools for quantum physics and the second one for mechanics. The quantum physics module deals with the photoelectric effect, the radioactive decay of carbon-11, and the Schr\"odinger equation - particle in a box. The classical mechanics module includes the study of the uniform circular motion, the forced damped harmonic oscillations and the vibration of a fixed-fixed string.