Design document feedback #1
Description
So we got 16/20 for our design document, and apparently our algorithms are terrible. Apparently, doing post-simulation data analysis is not a good idea, so we have to do it all in the actual loop. Anyway, here's a list of the problems we need to fix, from the feedback that only I probably got because I submitted it:
->The isEquivalent method has a threshold of 10^-10, which might not work properly if our length units are massive.
->Apparently there's a sign error in the particleForce() method.
->Searching for peri/apoapsis, updating orbit counts, tracking energy fluctuations should be done inside the main loop as much as possible.
->Apparently our orbit counting algorithm flat out won't work; a small hint that was given in the feedback was "It’s a good idea to average orbital periods if you have several, but how do you get them in the first place? Hint: what is the angle change between successive time steps?". Maybe it's something to do with Kepler's laws, or something. I don't really know (yet).
And that's pretty much it.