Copyright (c) 1993 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Reprinted from IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications; Vol. 13, No. 4, pp. 25-33.

Hyperstreamlines, developed by Lambertus Hesselink and Thierry Delmarcelle, are defined by the three principal eigenvectors of a symmetric second-order tensor. The major eigenvector gives the direction of the hyperstreamline and the two minor eigenvectors define its diameter. A comparison between hyperstreamlines and tensor ellipsoids is shown in image 13.
Hyperstreamlines can also by defined for unsymmetric second-order tensor fields.
The picture shows the reversible momentum flux density tensor in the flow past a hemisphere cylinder. The colour gives the kinetic energy density.