Scientific diagram drawing software
Solution 1
I would suggest KiCad. It is an application that helps you create professional schematics and printed circuit boards.
You can easily install it by adding the following PPA to your system:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:adamwolf/kicad-testing-daily
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install kicad kicad-doc-en
Solution 2
In the past I have used xfig
for such projects. Dispite the interface being very outdated (and the requirement for a three button mouse), the figures it generates are of high quality. You can install it using
sudo apt-get install xfig
Recently I have started to use Inkscape
for figure generation. The program can import/export from/to eps, pdf, svg, and even Latex (through PSTricks).
For drawing circuit diagrams you could import existing SVG graphics of the various components as there are plenty out there on the internet (i.e. see this). Drawing a converging lens diagram like you have above should be fairly easy.
sudo apt-get install inkscape
Please beware that the learning curve for inkscape
is steep. The documentation on how to use the program is good and there are several video tutorials on how to do complex tasks already on YouTube (although frequently for graphical design, rather than technical figures) to help you learn.
Edit: I just read a post on superuser that suggests Inkscape isn't the best for such drawings. Instead they suggest Google SketchUp for the technical portion and Inkscape to add extra features to your graphics.
Related videos on Youtube
PatGreens
I'm a .NET Web Developer but I also enjoy Typescript and React.
Updated on September 18, 2022Comments
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PatGreens over 1 year
I want to draw mathematical pictures like graphs but just simple ones like a quick sketch of an exponential decay crossing at a point marked A or something like that, and I want to draw a picture of a diagram of some equipment, like a lens and a light ray being sent through a pinhole and projected onto a screen. Diagrams like this:
But so they look more like this:
and:
Is there any software on Ubuntu that'll let me do this easily and accurately?
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Admin over 9 yearsi m also searching for something like that
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PatGreens over 11 yearsKiCad, I haven't heard of that, thanks, I'll give it a go. Is it just for KDE? Is there an equivalent already in the software centre?
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Yusuf Felly over 11 years@captainjamie It works on GNOME (Look at the screenshot above). There is also a tool called DIA (It is basically an editor for charts, diagrams, graphs etc). It is available in the Software Center.
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PatGreens over 11 yearsYeah, I know about inkscape but it's so broad because you're supposed to be able to draw anything that just drawing something simple gets really complicated. I'll have a look at xfig, thanks.
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PatGreens over 11 yearsYes, I used to use Google SketchUp on Windows but I don't think it's available on Ubuntu is it?