Geometry engines are used to build, manipulate, and measure three-dimensional
molecular structures. Structures can be built from standard bond angle and length
data or using distance geometry-based methods. When coupled to a computational
engine, geometry engines (e.g. minimization, sampling, dynamics, Monte Carlo,
and perturbation) can be used to evaluate structural variation as a function of
energy and to perform statistical mechanics analyses. Different combinations of
computational and geometry engines can be used to study such problems as conformational
energy surfaces and transitions, reaction pathways, and intermolecular interactions
(i.e. complexes). Other geometry engines can be used to fit molecular structures
for the purpose of comparison.