EM Wave Simulator

A Python script that simulates a propagating electromagnetic plane wave (photon wave packet) and streams the field data over UDP for real-time 3D visualization in Serial Studio.

Overview

This example visualizes a Gaussian-enveloped linearly polarized electromagnetic wave packet as described by Maxwell's equations:

$$ E(x,t) = E_0 , \exp!\Bigl(-\frac{(x - x_0 - ct)^2}{2\sigma^2}\Bigr) \sin\bigl(k(x - ct)\bigr) $$

$$ B(x,t) = B_0 , \exp!\Bigl(-\frac{(x - x_0 - ct)^2}{2\sigma^2}\Bigr) \sin\bigl(k(x - ct)\bigr) $$

The electric field oscillates along the Y axis, the magnetic field along the Z axis, and the wave propagates along the X axis — all three mutually perpendicular, as required by Maxwell's equations. The Gaussian envelope localizes the wave into a packet that travels at speed $c$, loops back after exiting the view, and repeats.

Widgets Exercised

Usage

1. Start the Simulator

python3 em_wave_udp.py

Optional arguments:

• --host HOST — UDP destination (default: 127.0.0.1)
• --port PORT — UDP port (default: 9000)
• --wavelength WAVELENGTH — Carrier wavelength in arbitrary units (default: 12.0)
• --speed SPEED — Wave propagation speed, units/s (default: 20.0)
• --amplitude AMPLITUDE — E-field peak amplitude (default: 10.0)
• --sigma SIGMA — Gaussian envelope width / spatial std dev (default: 20.0)
• --samples SAMPLES — Spatial sample points per frame (default: 80)
• --interval INTERVAL — Time between frames in seconds (default: 0.025)

Example:

# Tighter wave packet with higher frequency
python3 em_wave_udp.py --wavelength 6.0 --sigma 10.0 --samples 120

2. Configure Serial Studio

1. Open Serial Studio and load EMWaveSimulator.ssproj as the project file
2. Set the I/O source to UDP on port 9000
3. Click Connect

3. Observe

• The 3D Plot widget shows the E-field and B-field vectors oscillating in perpendicular planes as the wave packet propagates along the X axis
• The Multi-Plot widget shows E-field and B-field waveforms plotted against the propagation axis
• The wave packet enters from the left, travels through the view, exits right, then loops back

How It Works

Each frame, the simulator samples the spatial window at --samples evenly spaced points. For each point, it computes the Gaussian-modulated sinusoidal carrier for both the E-field and B-field, then sends a CSV line:

x,ey,bz\n

Serial Studio receives 80 lines per frame (one per spatial sample) and plots them using the custom X-axis feature — the propagation position (x) drives the horizontal axis while the field amplitudes are plotted vertically (and in 3D, along their respective perpendicular axes).

Frame Format

CSV over UDP, newline-delimited:

x_position,e_field_y,b_field_z\n

Requirements

• Python 3.6+ (no external dependencies)