Virtual reality visualization of frozen-in vector fields

Abstract

Magnetic field lines in ideal magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) are frozen into the fluid. Three-dimensional (3-D) visualization of the frozen-in magnetic field lines are useful for MHD dynamo study since it extracts stretching, twisting, and folding components of the flow. A 3-D, interactive, and immersive visualization method for the frozen-in field lines based on the virtual reality (VR) technology is proposed. A VR system with the head and hand tracking functions provides an ideal environment for the frozen-in line visualization since the seeding of the initial 3-D curve and stereoscopic observation of its motion are naturally realized in the VR space. © 2011 The Japan Society of Plasma Science and Nuclear Fusion Research.