Dynamic Chart Aspect Ratio

This demo illustrates how one can dynamically modify a chart's aspect ratio based on its data. The Sun Spots ARMA demonstration is used as a base.

Research has found that visual perception of angular separation between line segments of a plot is maximized when the aspect ratio of the plot makes the average of the slopes of these line segments equal to 45 degrees [1, Sec4.7]. If we change the aspect ratio of the plot for the SunSpots demo accordingly, we are immediately confronted with an important aspect of the data that is obfuscated in the original: the rate of increase in sun spot occurrences is larger than the rate of decrease in sun spot occurrences, in any given sun spot cycle that is marked by a large increase in sun spot activity. Moreover, if the cycle begins with only a small increase in sun spot activity, then the decrease of activity is actually roughly symmetric with the increase.

Click the "Correct Aspect Ratio" button to dynamicall resize and reposition the chart with an aspect ratio that fits the criteria discussed above. After correction, click "Reset Aspect Ratio" to return to the default size and position.


[1] William S. Cleveland. The Elements of Graphing Data. AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, NJ, 1994.