Visualization is an extremely important engineering activity for at least two
different reasons:
1) The ability to visualize problems and their solutions (for example, by
graphing or animating them) makes it easier to develop and apply intuition or
``common sense.''
2) Visual aids are almost always necessary in order to effectively communicate
engineering results.
Collectively, the different types of visualization represent a significant
fraction of all engineering activity.
As a result, engineering has a rich tradition surrounding the use of simple
plots. Plots represent represent the bulk of the visual aids used in
engineering reports. Your ability to effectively incorporate plots into your
writing will dramatically affect how your writing is perceived. Although
effective communication is no substitute for quality work, it is probably the
next most important factor in engineering success.
There are a wide variety of software packages available on workstations and
personal computers for producing plots. Mathematica has a simple, though not
especially flexible, plotting capability. In this lesson we will study the
problem of using Mathematica to produce two-dimensional plots.
As you advance in your career, you will doubtless use other plotting packages.
You should keep in mind from the outset that even the fanciest package will be
useless unless you know how to use plots to effectively convey information.