3D Plots

3D plots are a popular way to display three-dimensional data. With increasing computing power, 3D plots have been implemented in many software packages dealing with data acquisition. While 3D plots provide nice pictures and give a first impression of the data, this type of visualization is less suitable for data analysis. Depending on the viewpoint, important data may be obstructed by some prominent peaks. On the left you see an example of such a 3D plot. Consider the area behind the two peaks in the back of the plane - no statement can be given about this area from only looking at this plot.

In order to better understand the importance of 3D plots, you may start the interactive example by clicking at the figure on the left.