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Very basic question but I am struggling to get my head around it as it seems to me that I am trying to plot 4 variables ...

Is it possible to visualize the variation of a quantity, given that it is a (unknown) function of 3 variables, on one plot? [Essentially the data I have is the coordinates of an ion in 3d space and its energy at that point].

user2696225
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    I would draw level surfaces or even level curves on slices... But I don't know if there is a standard best way to do it. – bernatguillen Oct 24 '13 at 10:58
  • I agree with @Duronman. Drawing the level surfaces makes you feeling of plotting it in the $4$ dimensions. – Mikasa Oct 24 '13 at 11:05

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The answer is that it is indeed possible. The following link shows some ways of visualization for a Cosmic Ray (CR) problem in astronomy:

CR pressure with AVS

AVS = "Advanced Visualization System" (: let Google be your friend). I don't know if meanwhile there are cheap (i.e. non-commercial) alternatives for the latter.
One method is to plot the energy of the ions as colored dots. Example:

enter image description here

Han de Bruijn
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