A sankey diagram is a type of flow diagram that represents the transfer of quantities between nodes using ribbons or arrows whose width is proportional to the flow rate. It consists of nodes representing entities or states connected by links representing flows, where the visual encoding of magnitude through ribbon width allows rapid recognition of dominant flow paths and system bottlenecks. [formal: sankey-diagram | substrate: mind | horizon: a moment | explicit: yes | epoch: 1.00]
Accepted ontology entry
sankey diagram
A sankey diagram is a type of flow diagram that represents the transfer of quantities between nodes using ribbons or arrows whose width is proportional to the flow rate. It consists of nodes representing entities or states connected by lin…
Definition
Why it is in scope
A sankey diagram is a human-made visual representation that shows flows between entities using arrows or ribbons whose widths are proportional to flow quantities. It persists through software rendering, documentation, and teaching in fields like energy accounting, process engineering, and ecology.
Names and aliases
- sankey diagramen · CANONICAL
Relations from this entry
- cmrxqh5nw03vksoac1tgfpgi9INSTANCE_OF →
Sankey diagram IS a specific kind of chart: a visual representation of flows between entities, where the width of arrows or lines is proportional to the flow quantity. It visualizes the movement of resources, energy, or materials through a system.
- cmsa3mc5902ow7skqf3p1uw4pINSTANCE_OF →
A sankey diagram IS a specific kind of flow diagram. It visualizes quantities as flows passing through nodes, with flow width proportional to quantity. A competent speaker in data viz would call a sankey diagram 'a kind of flow diagram' — it is a specialized flow visualization. Nearest kind: flow diagram (more specific than chart).
Relations to this entry
- cmrx48kal029bsoac285dpstk← DERIVED_FROM
The alluvial diagram is a data visualization technique derived from the Sankey diagram. Both represent flows with proportional widths, but the alluvial diagram extends the Sankey concept to show categorical data transitions across multiple dimensions. The Sankey diagram, invented by Matthew Sankey in 1898, predates the alluvial diagram and served as its direct inspiration. Historical origin: which existed first → sankey diagram fed into alluvial diagram.
Record identity
- Created
- Jul 23, 2026, 3:50 AM UTC
- Content hash
- 636d2d6548be3f23a48b3c37621ed3ff2ac0cd5975a686950cfa3c1be24942a2