Sankey charts are a powerful data visualization technique that can help you understand complex relationships between variables and data sets. They provide a visual representation of flow and connections between different components, making it easy to see the direction and flow of the data.
The Sankey chart is often used in fields such as engineering, environmental science, and economics to visualize complex data that can be difficult to understand with other types of charts. As the Sankey chart is a relatively new technique, it has not become as widely used as some of its predecessors, such as flowcharts, but it is rapidly gaining popularity for a number of reasons.

Basic Elements of Sankey Charts

Sankey charts are constructed of two parallel lines that intersect in the middle. The lines represent different variables, and the intersections indicate flow or traffic between those variables. The two lines that intersect are denoted by labels, and each label indicates the direction of flow. The scale used to measure the flow can be either circular or linear.

Applications of Sankey Charts

Sankey charts are commonly used for visualizing the relationships between variables in fields such as engineering, economics, and environmental science. For example, an engineer might use Sankey charts to visualize the flow of a system, such as the flow of water in a pipeline, or the flow of electricity in a power plant. An economist might use Sankey charts to visualize the flow of economic transactions between businesses, such as the flow of exports from one country to another.

In addition, Sankey charts can be used for data aggregation, such as displaying the flow of data across different time periods. For example, an environmental scientist might use Sankey charts to visualize the flow of waste from different sources, such as factories, households, and government entities. These flows can be used to identify trends and cycles in the flow of waste, which can inform policy decisions.

Sankey charts can also provide insights into the efficiency of a system. For example, an economist might use Sankey charts to visualize the flow of funds within an organization, indicating whether funds are flowing in a loop or out of it, and how much time is spent on each part of the system. This can help identify areas for improvement and identify potential bottlenecks.

Conclusion

Sankey charts are a relatively new and powerful technique for visualizing and understanding complex relationships between variables. They provide a simple and straightforward way to communicate data, and can be used for a wide range of applications, from engineering and economics to environmental science and public policy. As the techniques for visualizing data become more sophisticated, Sankey charts are poised to become an increasingly popular tool for understanding complex data.

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