## Dictionary of Terms

DMM - Digital Molecular Matter - A material physics system based on finite element methods

DMM Object - A tetrahedral mesh plus defined DMM Passive nodes plus material properties; also includes an optional Prepared Surface Mesh

Passive Node - Vertex of a DMM Object's Tet Mesh that is not simulated but fixed or kinetically moved

Passive Region - Convex volume of space where all Tet Mesh vertices are considered as passive nodes

Glue Region - Convex volume of space where all instersecting Tets from different DMM Objects will be seen as glued by the simulator

Inner Faces - Polygons of a Prepared Mesh that are not part of the surface in the un-fractured state

Physical Materials - Parameters of an object or part of an object that describe how the object or part of an object responds to forces

Tet Cage - Polygonal mesh that defines exactly the outer boundary for a tetrahedral mesh

Tetrahedron - A solid contained by four triangular faces; a triangular pyramid

Tetrahedral Mesh (or Tet Mesh) - A set of tetrahedrons that may share faces and/or edges and/or vertices

Driven Tet Mesh - A Tetrahedral Mesh with the information of which node is controlled by Maya or DMM

Surface Mesh (or Input Surface Mesh) - A watertight polygonal mesh used by the DMM plugin to display the geometry of a DMM Object

Prepared Surface Mesh (or Output Surface Mesh) - Surface Mesh ready for deformation and fracture

Splinter Cage - A polygonal mesh that defines a three dimensional fracture pattern

Splinterize - Mutually clip a polygonal surface mesh with a defined fracture pattern and the fracture pattern with the surface mesh retaining the resulting surface and faces inside the original surface

Here is how they relate together:
(the DMM Object includes the mesh preparation and splinterizer algorithms)

The Driven Tet Mesh is generated by the DMM Object and given to the Simulation node. In return the latter send back the new positions of the simulated mesh vertices. Then the DMM Object output the Simulated Tet Mesh and construct the Output Surface Mesh by deforming the Prepared Mesh based on the simulated vertices' positions.
Note that the Simulated Tet Mesh is set to be not selectable (as it shouldn't be manipulated).

Next: Creating DMM