Simulated Annealing Optimiser Demo
==================================

Supplied by SIMetrix user Tim Channon email: tchannon@black.demon.co.uk

This is intended as an example of what the scripting language is capable of 
achieving rather than a useable optimiser.

To run demo, open schematic then type "OPTI" at the command line. When prompted
for file select "CHEV.TXT".

The optimiser uses the lower filter in the schematic as a reference then 
optimises a number of components in the upper filter to match the response
of the lower.

A plot of the error component is provided and updates as "better" component 
selections are found.

The run does take a long time with several hundred runs being required.

About Simulated Annealing
=========================

Simulated Annealing is a global optimisation method. That is it attempts to find
the highest peak rather than local optimising methods which locate the top
of a single peak.

It is called Simulated Annealing because it behaves in a similar manner to the 
process of annealing - say - a metal. In this process the material is heated
then allowed to cool slowly, gaining strength as it does so. At high tempearatures
thermal mobility is high and the molecules of the material can move freely.
As temperature is slowly reduced so are the molecules' mobility but in the
process they are able to line themselves up in a minimum energy state. The 
end result is an ordered crystal with great strength.

In this optimiser, we start with a high heat, that is the components are randomly
varied over a wide range. The best result is selected from a number of runs.
As the heat is reduced, the degree of variation is reduced. The process is 
repeated until the desired error is reached.