Soap Film (Minimal Surface)
This interactive simulator explores Soap Film (Minimal Surface) in Optics & Light. Non-planar wire: discrete Laplace relaxation on z; iridescent mesh — Plateau sketch. Use the controls to change the scenario; watch the visualization and any graphs or readouts to connect the model with lectures, labs, and homework.
Who it's for: Best once you already know the basic definitions and want to build intuition. Typical context: Optics & Light.
Key terms
- soap
- film
- minimal
- surface
- soap film minimal
- optics
- light
How it works
A **thin soap film** minimizes **area**; for **small slopes** the height **z(x,y)** over a plane obeys **∇²z = 0** with **Dirichlet** data on the **wire** — the same **Laplace** equation as this **Jacobi relaxation** on a square grid. The **frame** here is schematic: **flat bottom**, **vertical sides** at **z = 0**, and a **sinusoidal top** so the boundary is **not planar**; the interior **smooths** into a **harmonic** surface (pedagogical **stand-in** for a full **Plateau** minimal surface).
Key equations
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