A free browser-based simulator that turns partial differential equations into interactive, visual demonstrations, no installation or coding required to explore existing examples.
About the resource
VisualPDE lets you run and manipulate simulations of PDEs (waves, reaction-diffusion patterns, and similar systems) directly in a browser, on almost any device. It comes with a library of ready-made examples (“Explore”) and tools to build your own simulation (“Create”) without writing code, plus documentation for anyone who wants to go further. There’s also a “Visual Stories” section aimed at non-mathematicians, giving a lighter-touch way into current research topics.
It’s developed and maintained by Benjamin Walker, Adam Townsend, and Andrew Krause (Durham University), with contributions from Alex Chudasama and Xietao Wang Lin.
How you could use it
Works well as a live in-class demonstration (project a simulation and manipulate parameters in real time), as a self-directed exploration task for students in applied maths or mathematical biology modules, or, via Visual Stories, as an accessible way to introduce non-specialists to current PDE-based research.
Licence and attribution
This is a third-party tool, not a Durham-authored resource. The site’s HTML/CSS carries a CC-BY 4.0 licence, the underlying code is MIT licensed (with one component under Apache 2.0), see the project’s GitHub repository for details if you intend to adapt or redistribute the underlying code rather than just link to the live site.
Site content: CC-BY 4.0, Benjamin Walker, Adam Townsend, and Andrew Krause.
Underlying software: MIT Licence (see GitHub repository for full terms, including the separate Apache-licensed component).
Download or access the resource
https://visualpde.com/