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Quickstart

This guide walks through a complete simulation in Elementa from geometry creation to results visualisation.

1. Launch Elementa

elementa
# or
python -m elementa

The Welcome Window opens. Click New Project or select a template.

2. Configure the Project

In the New Project Wizard:

  • Project name — a descriptive label (e.g. parallel_plate_capacitor)
  • Space dimension — 2D or 3D
  • Physics — select one or more physics modules (e.g. Electrostatics)
  • Study type — Stationary or Time Dependent

Click Finish to open the main window.

3. Add Parameters

Open the Definitions → Parameters panel and define symbolic constants, for example:

Name Expression Description
W 0.1 Plate width (m)
H 0.01 Plate height (m)
gap 0.02 Gap between plates (m)

Parameters can reference each other and use standard mathematical functions (sin, cos, sqrt, …).

4. Build the Geometry

  1. Open the Geometry panel.
  2. Click Add → Rectangle and enter expressions using your parameters:
  3. dx = W, dy = H, cx = 0, cy = gap/2 → name it plate_top
  4. dx = W, dy = H, cx = 0, cy = -gap/2 → name it plate_bot
  5. Add a surrounding domain: a large rectangle covering both plates.
  6. Use Boolean → Difference to cut out the plates from the domain to create a dielectric gap region.

5. Generate the Mesh

  1. Open the Mesh panel.
  2. Set Element Size (e.g. 0.005 m for a fine mesh).
  3. Click Generate Mesh.

The mesh is visualised on the canvas with coloured boundaries.

6. Set Materials (Optional)

Open the Materials panel. Each domain can be assigned a material from the built-in library (Air, Vacuum, Water, Silicon, Copper) or a custom material with user-specified property values.

Enable Use Material Properties in the Physics settings to activate domain-dependent material values.

7. Define Boundary Conditions

Open the Physics panel:

  1. Click on a boundary in the canvas (it highlights) or type the boundary name.
  2. Click Add Boundary Condition and select the type:
  3. Electric Potential → set value = 100 V on plate_top
  4. Ground on plate_bot

8. Solve

  1. Open the Study panel.
  2. Click Compute.

A progress bar tracks assembly and solving. The log console displays solver status.

9. Visualise Results

After solving, open the Results panel:

  • Surface Plot — colour-map of electric potential φ or any scalar field.
  • Arrow Plot — vector arrows showing the electric field E.
  • Point Probe — extract the field value at a specific coordinate.
  • Line Probe — plot a field quantity along a line.

Use the Plot ribbon tab to add multiple plots to the canvas.

10. Save the Project

Press Ctrl+S or File → Save. Projects are saved as .elem files (a portable ZIP archive containing the model state, mesh, and results).

Next Steps