Mathematica DeMYSTiFied

CHAPTER 6Three-DimensionalGraphics

In Chap. 2, we saw how to plot a variety of two-dimensional objects. Almost all of the functions that were discussed there have a version that works similarly for three-dimensional objects. In this chapter we’ll see how to plot curves and surfaces in three-dimensional space as well as other kinds of objects.

6.1 The Plot3D Function

Let’s start with the Plot3D function which is the analog of the Plot function. We can use Plot3D to plot the graph of a two-variable function in three-dimensional space. Example 6.1.1 shows the graph of the function x² + y². The syntax for Plot3D is very similar to that of its two-dimensional cousin Plot. The first argument is the function that we want to plot the graph of, in this ...