Preface

This library is a working reference and a place of record. The reference part consists of three chapters, one for each subject I work in. They set out definitions, notation, conventions, and the background that findings depend on, and they are revised as the subjects move. The record part consists of the Findings: dated, numbered notes that report something specific, such as a measurement, a method, a result, or a correction, and that do not change once released except through the Errata.

Why this form

The reference-library form is old and demanding, and that is the point. Numbered sections and equations make a claim citable to the line. An index makes it findable. Errata make corrections visible instead of silent. A stated notation removes the ambiguity that costs the most time when results are compared across laboratories or across years. The form was developed for mathematical tables, where a single wrong digit propagates; it suits security work and materials measurement for the same reason.

Conventions

Chapters are numbered 1, 2, 3 and their sections §1.1, §1.2, and so on. Equations are numbered by chapter and section, so that 2.2.1 is the first equation of §2.2. Findings are numbered by year in order of release, so that 2026.1 is the first finding released in 2026; their sections are lettered §2026.1(i), §2026.1(ii), and their equations numbered 2026.1.1, 2026.1.2. Figures follow the same scheme.

Every finding carries a release date, a version, the chapter it is filed under, and the SHA-256 digest of its Markdown source. The source is published beside the rendered page. A reader who wants to verify that a finding has not been altered can recompute the digest; the procedure is given under Help. Where a finding is signed, the Ed25519 signature over the digest is printed with it and the public key is given under Citing.

A released finding is not edited in place. A correction is recorded in the Errata with its date, the finding's version is incremented, and its digest changes accordingly. Chapters, being reference text rather than record, are revised without ceremony; the site version and release date in the footer identify the state of the whole library.

Scope

Some of the work reported here is carried out with partners or is under review. It appears in this library only at the level of detail that has been cleared for publication. Where a subject is described in general terms, that is why.

The library opened in September 2026 and the work it records began in 2024. A finding's date is the date it was released here, never an earlier one; where the work it reports was completed earlier, the finding states the period in its text. Dates are never backfilled.

Following the library

New findings are announced in the Atom feed. Corrections appear in the Errata. Questions and corrections from readers are welcome at mission@ssx360.com.