Interactive Physics vs MPTRAC
Interactive Physics
design-simulation.comMPTRAC
slcs-jsc.github.ioSide by side
| Figure | Interactive Physics | MPTRAC |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | Free |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 17 | 2 |
| Spec score · Physics Simulation Software | 8.2 (#26) | 8.7 (#7) |
| Authoring tools | Yes | No |
| Data export | Yes | Yes |
| Delivery mode | desktop | hybrid |
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Headquarters | Canton, Michigan, USA | Jülich Supercomputing Centre, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany |
| Lesson library | Yes | No |
| Purpose | Interactive Physics is educational software for modeling and simulating physical phenomena in STEM education. | MPTRAC is a Lagrangian particle dispersion model for analyzing atmospheric transport in the free troposphere and stratosphere. |
| Support | The maker lists [email protected] and a support forum, and says Homework/Student Editions do not include technical support. | The project directs questions, support, and collaboration inquiries to Dr. Lars Hoffmann at the Jülich Supercomputing Centre. |
Plans
Interactive Physics
- Single User (node-locked)Price not published
- Additional Single UserPrice not published
- Single User (dongle-locked)Price not published
- 10 UserPrice not published
- 20 UserPrice not published
- 30 UserPrice not published
- Single User (node-locked) — Annual License$100 a year
- Single User (node-locked) — Paid Up License$249, paid once
- 10 User — Annual License$400 a year
- 20 User — Annual License$600 a year
In their own words
Interactive Physics
Interactive Physics has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.
MPTRAC
MPTRAC is a Lagrangian particle dispersion model for studying atmospheric transport in the free troposphere and stratosphere. It calculates forward and backward air-parcel trajectories from meteorological wind fields, with stochastic diffusion, subgrid wind variation and mixing between parcels. Optional process parameterizations cover convection, sedimentation, decay, gas-phase and aqueous-phase chemistry, and wet and dry deposition. Listed research applications include long-range pollutant transport, volcanic ash dispersion, tracer experiments and atmospheric chemistry.
The browser-based Web Runner can configure, run and visualize simulations, then download results without local installation. It is limited to 10,000 air parcels, 30 days and 10 minutes of model runtime. The model needs meteorological input, normally netCDF files on a regular pressure, longitude and latitude grid. MPTRAC supports hybrid MPI, OpenMP and OpenACC parallelization, and offers visualization interfaces for Gnuplot and ParaView. It is GPL-3.0 software for Linux, self-hosted and web use; listed pricing includes free.