4. Conclusion – an open method

In many situations, physical models are based on a generic law supported by boundary conditions. This is the case in elastodynamics, thermodynamics, electromagnetism and field physics in general, including particle dynamics and gravitation theory.

Integral methods, the principle of which has already been discussed in this article, appear to be an appropriate complement and alternative when the upstream mathematical models are well established and advanced, and offer appreciable gains in both calculation speed and accuracy. They should therefore continue to be integrated into the calculation and simulation chains used by engineers and researchers.