· Steepest descents step is determined by the largest forces

· Good for relieving strain in a built model

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Features of the steepest descents minimization method

· Only first derivatives are required (good for big molecules)

· Fast minimization (big steps) when far from minimum, but small steps (slow minimization) when close to minimum

· Slow convergence

· May oscillate

· No use for TS searches

Next: better minimization methods are based on the Newton-Raphson method