What is simulation instability?
The simulation of molecular motion involves a great deal of computation. Each run consists of a number of time steps (each very small). At each time step, the position of the various atoms is calculated and updated, based on a number of factors. Sometimes, the simulation enters into a state that is not legal (i.e. atoms are too close, bonds are in impossible angles, etc.). At times like this, the Core exits, and information is uploaded to the server. The client will then get another assignment. If your computer is stable, then you haven’t done anything wrong. On unstable computers, it is possible that the simulation instability was brought on by a fault of the system rather than something intrinsic to the work unit. Because of this, a work unit may be sent out again at some time if it is returned as having run into instability. In a given project, we expect a small percentage of units to encounter legitimate instability.
