It was demonstrated that the elementary 3-dimensional dislocation segment was mathematically equivalent to 10 electrostatic charges, and that elastic interactions among such segments could therefore be computed using O(N) operations; via a 10-fold application of the fast multi-pole method.

Towards Rapid Evaluation of the Elastic Interactions among Three-Dimensional Dislocations G.J.Rodin: Philosophical Magazine Letters, 1998, 77[4], 187-90