Cartographic algorithms : problems of implementation and evaluation and the impact of digitising errors

CISRG discussion paper ;

Line generalisation by repeated elimination of the smallest area

CISRG discussion paper ; 1

The Douglas-Peucker algorithm for line simplification : re-evaluation through visualisation

CISRG discussion paper ;

Seeing the light – finding the poetic content of design objects

This paper presents the process and initial results of a research through design project attempting to understand the poetic qualities of design objects. This exploration forms part of a PhD study addressing design artefacts as poetic objects - objects that both embed and conjure memory, association and imagination. The research examines the ways in which design objects can be poetic and how designers actively and knowingly use objects to poetic effect. It is proposed that the poetic content of design artefacts can be located on a continuum ranging from the experiential - relating to how we perceive things - to the reflective and cultural. What unites these levels is the capacity of design objects to reveal and change our way of looking at things. The practice uses the design of lighting as a vehicle for exploring the poetic meaning of designed objects more generally. Starting with the notion that lights do more than provide light, the current phase of practice examines the ways in which luminaires can mediate how we perceive and experience light and explores, in particular, the more nuanced and ephemeral qualities of light that escape conscious attention

Dynamics of liquid nano-threads : fluctuation-driven instability and rupture

The instability and rupture of nanoscale liquid threads is shown to strongly depend on thermal fluctuations. These fluctuations are naturally occurring within molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and can be incorporated via fluctuating hydrodynamics into a stochastic lubrication equation (SLE). A simple and robust numerical scheme is developed for the SLE that is validated against MD for both the initial (linear) instability and the nonlinear rupture process. Particular attention is paid to the rupture process and its statistics, where the `double-cone’ profile reported by Moseler & Landmann [Science, 2000, 289(5482): 1165-1169] is observed, as well as other distinct profile forms depending on the flow conditions. Comparison to the Eggers’ similarity solution [Physical Review Letters, 2002, 89(8): 084502], a power law of the minimum thread radius against time to rupture, shows agreement only at low surface tension; indicating that surface tension cannot generally be neglected when considering rupture dynamics