vfield

Plot 2D velocity field.

Description

Syntax:
   HANDLE = VFIELD(X,Y,U,V,VARARGIN)

Inputs:
  X, Y Arrows origin, N-D arrays
  U, V Current components, N-D arrays
VARARGIN:
  C, patches CData
 'color', <color> line/patch color [ 'k' ]
'fill', [ {0} | 1 ], fill arrows tip
'tr', <val>, tip length with respect to intensity or absolute length if is a string [ <value> <value as string> {0.1} ]
'fi', <deg>, tip angle [ 30 ]
'z', <val>, z level, value or array size x, y, u and v [ 0 ]

The screenshot was created with:

[x,y] = meshgrid(-2:.2:2,-1:.15:1);
z = x .* exp(-x.^2 - y.^2);
[u,v] = gradient(z,.2,.15);
vfield(x,y,.3*u,.3*v,z), colorbar
axis equal

• Acknowledgements: This submission has inspired the following:; vfield_color
• MATLAB release: MATLAB 6.0 (R12)

[Duane Hanselman]

How is this an improvement over MATLAB's quiver function?

[M MA]

The major improvement is the possibility of create the arrows as patches, not as lines, so that you can use the arrows to also show the vorticity field, or temperature, ... or simply the currents speed, as in the screenshot.
Moreover, you can also control the arrowhead scale or length.