Astronomy and Astrophysics Software
SCIENCE.wks has developed a library of programs for astronomy and astrophysics calculations. They should be of interest to both amateurs and professionals.
There are three separate libraries:
ASTRO - 27 spreadsheet templates for basic astronomy calculations.
ASTROPHYS - 56 spreadsheet templates including those of ASTRO plus astrophysics, advanced mathematics, statistics, and physics calculations.
The two programs above require LOTUS 1-2-3 or Quattro to run, but no spreadsheet experience, since the templates are completely macro- and menu- driven. However, if you know your way around a spreadsheet, you can enhance the templates, exporting the results, embellishing the graphs, re-formatting the tables, etc.
ASTRO-C - 30 programs for basic astronomy calculations.
ASTRO-C runs stand-alone (1-2-3 not required) and has pull-down menus. These are compiled 1-2-3 templates but they still can be enhanced using 1-2-3-like commands.
The level of computational sophistication for these programs is that of Meeus' "Astronomical Formulae", Duffett-Smith's "Astronomy with your Personal Computer, The Nautical Almanac Office's "Almanac for Computers", and Taff's "Computational Spherical Astronomy". In some cases, a scientific journal article has been consulted for the computational algorithm. Very comprehensive user's manuals are provided which give details of the computational methods and complete examples.
If you are a Mathcad user you may be interested in the electronic book Astronomical Formulas". Astronomical Formulas provides comprehensive calculations
for both the professional and amateur astronomer in such
diverse areas as spherical astronomy, cosmology, and stars and
stellar systems. Mathcad's unique mathematical and text
processing capabilities combined with the hyperlinks of an electronic book will appeal to you whether you are a professional
or amateur astronomer. The amateur can obtain in-depth
definitions and explanations of any quantity being calculated
while the more experienced astronomer can perform a variety
of useful calculations.
Physics Software
SCIENCE.wks has developed programs for physics calculations.
PHYSLAB - 18 spreadsheet templates for physics laboratory calculations.
PHYSLAB requires LOTUS 1-2-3 or Quattro to run, but no spreadsheet experience, since the templates are completely macro- and menu- driven. However, if you know your way around a spreadsheet, you can enhance the templates, export the results, embellish the graphs, and re-format the tables, etc.
FILTRANS - calculates the XUV and soft x-ray transmission of foils of any chemical element and plastic membranes of arbitrary composition.