Vocabulary

Last updated Oct 19, 2023 Edit Source

• List

Rotation of a vector field. Can be viewed as flow of fluid or gas through said field.

related to: Divergence

Flow of a vector field. Can be viewed as flow of fluid or gas through said field. Expanding Flow: positive Divergence (like a magnet pushing away) Compressing Flow: negative Divergence (like a magnet pulling in)

related to: Curl

Values are stored on grids / volumes / fields

think pyro simulation

related to: Lagrangian Simulation

Values are stored on particles

think particle simulation

related to: Eulerian Simulation

Scalar fields store a single float per voxel.

Examples: Density, Temperature, Masks

Vector Fields store three floats per voxel.

Examples: Color, Velocity, Force

Vorticity is a pseudovector field that describes the local spinning motion of a continuum near some point (the tendency of something to rotate, as would be seen by an observer located at that point and traveling along with the flow.

Lines that meet at right angle / 90 degrees

sources / further reading:

• Divergence and curl: The language of Maxwell’s equations, fluid flow, and more - 3Blue1Brown
• The idea of the curl of a vector field - Math Insight
• The idea of the divergence of a vector field - Math Insight
• Gradients and Partial Derivatives - Physics Videos by Eugene Khutoryansky)
• Vorticity - Wikipedia