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2D Heat Conduction (Finite-Difference Heat Equation, Materials & Heat Sources)

Real 2D finite-difference solver of the heat equation dT/dt = alpha * Laplacian(T) on a grid with per-cell material diffusivity. Paint copper, pine wood or foam insulation regions with their real thermal-diffusivity ratios, drop persistent heat sources and heat sinks, and watch the live temperature heatmap evolve under insulated boundaries.

Thermodynamics2DModerate60 FPS📱 Mobile-adapted🔥 Fire ⇄ 3D version

Details

CategoryThermodynamics

RenderingCanvas 2D

DifficultyModerate

Target FPS60

ControlsPick Heat, Copper, Pine or Foam and click or drag the grid to paint a persistent heat anchor or a material region; adjust brush radius, anchor temperature and Steps/frame, then use Erase and Clear to reset.

heat conductionheat equationfinite differencethermal diffusivitymaterialsheat sourcesheat sinksthermodynamics simulation

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This 2D companion solves the actual heat equation on a grid — an explicit finite-difference scheme that lets you paint real material regions (copper, pine wood, foam insulation, each carrying its own genuine thermal diffusivity α in m²/s) and drop persistent heat sources and heat sinks that hold their temperature indefinitely rather than a single splash of colour that just decays. With insulated edges, the board settles toward whatever steady state your anchors and materials dictate, exactly like a real conduction problem, and every frame is a fresh numerical timestep, not a pre-baked colour animation.

⚙ Under the hood

Real 2D finite-difference solver of the heat equation dT/dt = alpha * Laplacian(T) on a heterogeneous grid: paint copper, pine wood or foam insulation regions carrying their own real thermal-diffusivity ratios, drop persistent heat sources and heat sinks that hold a fixed temperature every step instead of a one-shot splash of colour, and watch the live temperature heatmap relax toward a genuine steady state under insulated boundaries.

heat conductionheat equationfinite differencethermal diffusivitymaterialsheat sourcesheat sinksthermodynamics simulation

2D · HTML5 Canvas 2D · 60 FPS target · runs fully client-side, no install