100
« Last post by Anders Blom on January 10, 2025, 08:26 »
The first step is probably to think about what the purpose of creating the plot it, what data are you looking to extract. Maybe an isosurface is not the best choice?
In any case, what you are plotting is basically a 4-dimensional dataset, a function f(x,y,z). Since we have no real way to doing a 4D plot, we need to use various 3D projections, and the isosurface is one such option. But all isovalues are equally relevant or "correct", so we cannot pick one for you. An isosurface is this the best option for the plot if you are interested in knowing where in space the quantity takes certain values.
It might help to consider the 2D analogy of height curves on a map.. Instead of seeing the mountain as a real 3D surface, you plot isolines that connect points in the geography that lie on the same altitude. By looking at that plot you can trace the contours, which for instance help you pick a suitable walking path, or at least tell you which parts of the trail will be steep or flat. But it would not be helpful if someone just picked one single isoline and didn't show the other ones.
The isosurface is similar, but in one higher dimension which unfortunately means we can only look at one curve (surface) = isovalue at the time. An alternative might be to use a point could plot instead, where color is used as a 4th dimension to indicate where the function is high or low. In that case you can plot all data at once, but it might also be hard to see what goes on in the middle of the system. Finally, you can also use cut-planes to plot the data in a specific plane, and then move this plane along the structure.
Recent Posts