I am currently taking a course in quantum mechanics using the second edition of McQuarrie's Quantum Chemistry text. I plan to take a QM II course, more concentrating on atomic and molecular spectra. I have been using Mathcad 15, which includes Maple functionality (please pardon my stating the obvious). Mathcad, however, seems to lack functionality (or I have not found it) that would be helpful, like the ability to easily define an operator. Since Maple and Matchad are similar, I am considering a switch to the student version of Maple.
I am lead to believe by this link that Maple includes the ability to easily define an operator such as those used in QM. I hate to appear skeptical, however, I have the following questions:
- Does the Maple 15 student version include this functionality?
- From a user standpoint, I would like to hear from any users who have used the QM functionality. Specifically, what is your experience with it, and how easy was it to use?
- What kind of learning curve might I expect in switching from Mathcad to Maple?
- Are there any other users who have made this same switch from Mathcad to Maple and what were your reasons for doing so as well as your experience?
- Will Maple import Mathcad files? If so, what Mathcad versions are supported?
I realize that comparing Maple with Mathcad may be similar to comparing apples to oranges; however, before I spend the extra $$ on Maple, I would like to have some understanding of what I might encounter.
Thank you for your time.
