Rotating plane wave z = sin(x cos t + y sin t)

Equation: z = sin(x * cos(t) + y * sin(t))

z = sin(k · r) with k(t) = (cos t, sin t). |k| = 1 so the wavelength is fixed; only the travel direction rotates.

It is a clean way to picture a wave vector and planar rotation.

Related surfaces

• Rolling wavesz = sin(x + t) + cos(y + t)
• Three-arm vortexz = sin(3 * atan2(y, x) + t) * sqrt(x^2 + y^2) / 4
• Twisting interferencez = sin(x) * cos(y) * cos(t) + cos(x) * sin(y) * sin(t)