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 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 are mutually perpendicular, as Maxwell's equations require. 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

The project includes a control loop that launches em_wave_udp.py automatically when you connect, so you normally just open the project and click Connect. Run it by hand only if you want custom options:

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. Confirm the I/O source is UDP on local port 9000 (the project file stores this configuration).
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 the X, E-field, and B-field waveforms over the sample window.
• The wave packet enters from the left, travels through the view, exits on the right, then loops back.

How it works

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

x,ey,bz\n

Serial Studio receives one line per spatial sample (80 per frame with the default --samples). The 3D Plot uses the custom X-axis feature so the propagation position (x) drives the horizontal axis and the field amplitudes run along their respective perpendicular axes. The Multi-Plot draws the same three datasets against the sample index, giving a side view of the packet as it sweeps through the window.

Frame format

CSV over UDP, newline-delimited:

x_position,e_field_y,b_field_z\n

Requirements

• Python 3.6+ (no external dependencies).