Flow Field Screensaver
Flow Field is a free, in-browser screensaver where thousands of particles ride an invisible vector field, leaving long silky ribbons of light. The field that steers them is generated live from layered math, so the streams never repeat. Nothing to download, and ESC exits at any time.
How the Flow Field screensaver works
An invisible flow field assigns a direction to every point on screen. The angle at a particle's location is built from layered sine and cosine functions of its x and y position plus time, so the field forms smooth, swirling currents that slowly evolve.
Hundreds to thousands of particles read the angle beneath them and take a short step in that direction each frame, drawing a tiny line segment from their old position to their new one. Chained together over many frames, these segments become the long, flowing ribbons you see.
Each particle carries a short lifespan. When it expires, or when the particle drifts off the edge of the screen, it respawns at a fresh random spot, which keeps the whole field churning and prevents the streams from clumping.
Color comes from the palette. Aurora, Ember and Rainbow derive each line's hue from position or flow angle, while Mono uses your chosen color. With Trails on, the background is only faintly washed each frame, so the ribbons linger and stretch into silk.
A worked example
At the defaults — 1200 particles, Speed 4, Field scale 5, Aurora palette, Trails on — twelve hundred particles glide along the noise currents and leave persistent streaks. Field scale 5 sets how tightly the currents swirl, and the Aurora palette maps each ribbon's hue by height, sweeping from green through blue to violet like northern lights.
Settings & tips
- Raise Particles toward 3000 for dense, woven sheets of light, or lower it to reveal individual streamlines.
- Adjust Field scale for broad sweeping currents at low values or tight, turbulent eddies at high values.
- Turn off Trails for sharp moving dots instead of ribbons, and switch the Palette between Aurora, Ember, Rainbow and Mono.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a flow field?
- A flow field assigns a direction to every point in space, and particles follow those directions like leaves on a stream. Here the field is generated from layered sine waves so it swirls and evolves.
- Is the flow field screensaver free?
- Yes. It runs free in your browser with no download or installation required.
- Why do the particles leave trails?
- With Trails enabled the background is only faintly cleared each frame, so the path each particle draws lingers and builds into long ribbons. Turn Trails off for crisp dots.
- How many particles can the flow field show?
- The Particles slider ranges from 300 up to 3000, letting you choose between airy individual streams and dense woven sheets of light.
- How do I exit the flow field screensaver?
- Press the ESC key at any time to return to the page.