Software & Technology for Students

HPU Servers

You can store and access files in both private folders and in shared folders. The network-accessible drives and folders are:

• O: This is a large drive for private files
• PhysicsProjects: This is a shared folder for storing files related to your research in the Department of Physics
• W: This is a large drive for storing html files for your own web site.

Mac Instructions – O Drive

• In the Finder, press command-K.
• The Connect to Server window appears
• Type the following for the server address:

smb://storageserver.highpoint.edu/2faculty$/USERNAME

(Replace USERNAME with your HPU username.)

• Click on the + and this will add your O: drive to your Favorite Servers
• Highlight the newly created drive and click connect
• You will be prompted to type in your username and password.

Physics Research Drive

• Follow instructions for the O drive.
• Use the following server address:

smb://Valhalla/PhysicsProjects$

W Drive

• Follow instructions for the O drive.
• Type the following server address:

smb://acme.highpoint.edu/USERNAME
(Replace USERNAME with your HPU username.)

VPython

www.vpython.org — Official home page for VPython. Download installers and read documentation.

VPython Wiki

Vpython – Example Programs

Visual Relativity — This site by Rob Salgado has a number of example VPython programs including examples of using a Wiimote with VPython.

VPython — Example programs

ShowMeDo video tutorials for VPython by Erik Thompson

YouTube VPython instructional videos channel

Installing LaTeX

Mac OS X: MacTeX at http://www.tug.org/mactex. Both TeXWorks and TeXShop editors come with MacTeX.
Windows: MikTeX or TeX Live; both come with the TeXWorks editor. Another popular editor is TeXnicCenter. Install MikTeX or TeX Live before installing TeXnicCenter.
Linux: TeXLive at http://www.tug.org/texlive/quickinstall.html

HPU Templates

SHORT PAPER

Paper-template zip – This is a paper on High Speed Video Analysis of a Cantilever that you should use as an example when you are writing a paper for physics classes at HPU. It follows the AJP guidelines and style for a preprint submitted to The American Journal of Physics. It requires the revtex4-1 package which is included in the zip file.

Paper-template – This is the pdf produced by paper-template.tex.
paper-template.tex – This is the paper-template tex file. It won’t compile without the images. They are contained in the zip file.

SAMPLE FILE

sample-latex – A zip archive with a sample LaTeX document. This simple document demonstrates commands for section headings, boldfaced font, italics, equations, tables, and images. It was originally written by Harvey Gould to help authors of articles submitted to the American Journal of Physics. Unzip the archive and open the .tex document with your LaTeX editor. Compile it with pdftex. Here is Harvey Gould’s original file.
Sample-latex – The PDF produced by sample-file.tex.
Sample-latex.tex – You will need the images in order to compile this document.

POSTER

poster-template – A zip archive with a sample poster.

PACKAGES

revtex4-1 – This package is required for submitting articles to APS and AIP publications such as Physical Review< or American Journal of Physics.

GUIDES

AJP Introduction to LaTeX – American Journal of Physics Introduction to LaTeX. An introduction to LaTeX for submitting an article to the American Journal of Physics.

Short-math-guide – Short Math Guide for LaTeX. A brief guide to mathematical markup in LaTeX by Michael Downes, American Mathematical Society.

Short-guide – The (Not So) Short Introduction to LaTeX2e. A beginner’s tutorial that can be completed in less than two hours.

epslatex – Using Imported Graphics in LaTeX and pdfLaTeX. Do almost anything you need to do with graphics.

Getting to grips with LaTeX – A collection of online tutorials. It’s especially useful for tables and other markup.