pyvista.SolidSphere

SolidSphere(

outer_radius: float = 0.5,

inner_radius: float = 0.0,

radius_resolution: int = 5,

start_theta: float = 0.0,

end_theta: float | None = None,

theta_resolution: int = 30,

start_phi: float = 0.0,

end_phi: float | None = None,

phi_resolution: int = 30,

center: VectorLike[float] = (0.0, 0.0, 0.0),

direction: VectorLike[float] = (0.0, 0.0, 1.0),

radians: bool = False,

tol_radius: float = 1e-08,

tol_angle: float | None = None,

) → UnstructuredGrid

Create a solid sphere.

A solid sphere fills space in 3D in comparison to pyvista.Sphere(), which is a 2D surface.

This function uses a linear sampling of each spherical coordinate, whereas pyvista.SolidSphereGeneric() allows for nonuniform sampling. Angles are by default specified in degrees.

PyVista uses a convention where theta represents the azimuthal angle (similar to degrees longitude on the globe) and phi represents the polar angle (similar to degrees latitude on the globe). In contrast to latitude on the globe, here phi is 0 degrees at the North Pole and 180 degrees at the South Pole. phi=0 is on the positive z-axis by default. theta=0 is on the positive x-axis by default.

While values for theta can be any value with a maximum span of 360 degrees, large magnitudes may result in problems with endpoint overlap detection.

Parameters:

outer_radiusfloat, default: 0.5

Outer radius of sphere. Must be non-negative.

inner_radiusfloat, default: 0.0

Inner radius of sphere. Must be non-negative and smaller than outer_radius.

radius_resolutionint, default: 5

Number of points in radial direction.

start_thetafloat, default: 0.0

Starting azimuthal angle.

end_thetafloat, default: 360.0

Ending azimuthal angle. end_theta must be greater than start_theta.

theta_resolutionint, default: 30

Number of points in theta direction.

start_phifloat, default: 0.0

Starting polar angle. phi must lie between 0 and 180 in degrees.

end_phifloat, default: 180.0

Ending polar angle. phi must lie between 0 and 180 in degrees. end_phi must be greater than start_phi.

phi_resolutionint, default: 30

Number of points in phi direction, inclusive of polar axis, i.e. phi=0 and phi=180 in degrees, if applicable.

centersequence[float], default: (0.0, 0.0, 0.0)

Center coordinate vector in [x, y, z].

directionsequence[float], default: (0.0, 0.0, 1.0)

Direction coordinate vector in [x, y, z] pointing from center to the sphere’s north pole at zero degrees phi.

radiansbool, default: False

Whether to use radians for theta and phi. Default is degrees.

tol_radiusfloat, default: 1.0e-8

Absolute tolerance for endpoint detection for radius.

tol_anglefloat, optional

Absolute tolerance for endpoint detection for phi and theta. Unit is determined by choice of radians parameter. Default is 1.0e-8 degrees or 1.0e-8 degrees converted to radians.

Returns:

pyvista.UnstructuredGrid

Solid sphere mesh.

See also

pyvista.Sphere

Sphere that describes outer 2D surface.

pyvista.SolidSphereGeneric

Uses more flexible parameter definition.

Examples

Create a solid sphere.

>>> import pyvista as pv
>>> import numpy as np
>>> solid_sphere = pv.SolidSphere()
>>> solid_sphere.plot(show_edges=True)

Static Scene

Interactive Scene

A solid sphere is 3D in comparison to the 2d pyvista.Sphere(). Generate a solid hemisphere to see the internal structure.

>>> isinstance(solid_sphere, pv.UnstructuredGrid)
True
>>> partial_solid_sphere = pv.SolidSphere(start_theta=180, end_theta=360)
>>> partial_solid_sphere.plot(show_edges=True)

Static Scene

Interactive Scene

To see the cell structure inside the solid sphere, only 1/4 of the sphere is generated. The cells are exploded and colored by radial position.

>>> partial_solid_sphere = pv.SolidSphere(
...     start_theta=180,
...     end_theta=360,
...     start_phi=0,
...     end_phi=90,
...     radius_resolution=5,
...     theta_resolution=8,
...     phi_resolution=8,
... )
>>> partial_solid_sphere['cell_radial_pos'] = np.linalg.norm(
...     partial_solid_sphere.cell_centers().points, axis=-1
... )
>>> partial_solid_sphere.explode(1).plot()

Static Scene

Interactive Scene