... by ‘discretising‘ them in small regions, the finite elements of the title. The more 460 The Coming of Materials Science Moore, A.W. (1973) in Chemistry and Physics of Carbon, ed. Walker, ... 10' lOy atoms, depending on the complexity of the interactions between atoms. So, at best, the size of the region simulated is of the order of 1 nm3 and the time below one nanosecond. ... the same book, to 418 The Coming of Materials Science 12.2.3.4 Computer-modelling of polymers. The properties of polymers are deter- mined by a large range of variables - chemical...