Written by David Lippman, Pierce College; based on Javaview by Konrad Polthier, Zuse Institute, Berlin
Helpful shortcuts:
| To get the planes | "Implicit Surface" x*y*z=0 (increase discr) |
| Rotate the graph | Grab it with the mouse and move it |
| Bounds | Use Clip Bounds | helps fit graph into window if you have a singularity (function goes to infinity) |
| Zoom Fit | helps fit graph into window if you don't have a singularity |
| right click on surface | New window | resize this window for full-screen picture |
| ctrl m | check "transparency" | make surface transparent |
| Hold down z key and the left mouse button; as you roll the mouse, the size changes | zoom in and out |
| shift j | lighting on and off |
| shift x | axes on and off |
| right click on surface | Rotate, orbit | normal mode to drag graph |
| discr | changes smoothness, but draws slower |
| Edges | uncheck "Show Edges" to get rid of cross section lines |
Notes:
Be careful about changing "discr" too quickly; higher values slow down the drawing.
Your graphing window must be active and your mouse in the window for some of these to work.
IIf nothing happens, try hitting the "Stop" or "Start" button to refresh the display.
If you are doing several surfaces:
You have to do this for each surface; you can't go back once you have drawn another.
To get smoother intersections: shift z (this may slow the drawing some)
"Remove Selected" removes the selected surface from "Select Existing".
To see through surfaces: ctrl m | check "transparency"
Special effects:
Parameters - adjust the surface shape with the sliders:
Example - Implicit Surface: x^2/a^2 - y^2/b^2 + z^2 = 1
Animations - use time as a variable: Example - Implicit Surface: x^2 + y^2 + z^2 = time
To save your picture:
"Print Screen" on your keyboard; then paste into Paint or some other program.
Available functions (always use lower case variables):
| Misc. Math | * is multiply; / is divide; ^ is power; abs(x); unit step function Ua(x) = (1+sign(x-a))/2 |
| Log and exponential | exp(x); natural log = log(x); base 10 log = log(x)/2.303 |
| Root (x>=0 only) | sqrt(x) or x^0.5; cube root = x^(1/3)... |
| Trig | cos(x); sin(x); tan(x);atan(x); acot(x); acos(x); asin(x) |
| Hyperbolic Trig | sinh(x); cosh(x); coth(x); asinh(x); acosh(x); atanh(x); acoth(x) |
Sample expressions:
3*x^2 + sin(abs(y^3))
cos(x^2+y^2)/x
2*(1+sign(x-3)) + acot(y)
y^(1/4)*exp(sqrt(x)) + log(x/y)
