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VectorPlot

Status: Stable

documented, exercised by the test suite and/or worked examples, with no known limitations recorded.

Description

VectorPlot[{vx, vy}, {x, xmin, xmax}, {y, ymin, ymax}, opts...]

Draws a grid of arrows showing the direction (and optionally magnitude) of the vector field {vx, vy} at each grid point. VectorPlot is HoldAll: vx, vy are held unevaluated until x and y are bound to numeric values. Returns a Graphics[...] object. Options: VectorPoints integer n → n×n grid (default 15); Automatic = 15 VectorScale Automatic: equal-length arrows (direction only) None: proportional to magnitude real f: arrow length = f × grid spacing VectorStyle style directive(s) applied to all arrows ColorFunction named ramp string (keyed to speed) or f[vx,vy,speed]/f[speed]→color. Ramps: "Rainbow", "CoolTones", "WarmTones", "Greyscale", "Temperature" ColorFunctionScaling True (default): normalise speed to [0,1] RegionFunction f[x,y] mask: skip grid points outside the region Standard Graphics options (Axes, AspectRatio→1, Frame, PlotRange, AxesLabel, GridLines, ImageSize, Background, PlotLabel, …) pass through to the Graphics[...] result.

Examples

No verified examples yet for this function.

Algorithm

vectorplot.c — VectorPlot[{vx, vy}, {x,xmin,xmax}, {y,ymin,ymax}, opts...]

Draws a grid of arrows showing the direction (and optionally magnitude) of the 2-D vector field {vx, vy}. Returns a Graphics[...] object auto- displayed by the REPL.

VectorPlot is HoldAll: vx, vy, and the iterator specs are held unevaluated until x and y are bound to numeric values (same semantics as ContourPlot).

Options:

  VectorPoints    integer n → n × n grid (default 15); Automatic = 15
  VectorScale     Automatic: normalise all arrows to equal display length
                  None:      proportional to magnitude
                  real f:    arrow length = f × grid_spacing
  VectorStyle     style directive(s) applied to all arrows
  ColorFunction   f[vx,vy,speed,x,y] (or fewer args) → color, or "Rainbow"
  ColorFunctionScaling  True (default): normalise speed to [0,1]
  RegionFunction  f[x,y] mask: skip grid points outside the region
  Standard Graphics options pass through (Axes, AspectRatio→1, Frame, …)

Implementation notes

Attributes: HoldAll, Protected.

References

See also: HoldAll