Can a vector field be represented as a surface in a vector space?

[JanEnClaesen]

For example the surface (x,y,x²+y²), can for example surfaces be considered as one abstract 'vector' in some abstract 'vector'-space? The ' ' because surfaces might not be a vector space. For surfaces we can exceptionally define normal vectors at every point.

 

[pasmith]

For any non-empty set X, the set of real-valued functions with domain X is a real vector space under the operations of pointwise addition (f + g)(x) = f(x) + g(x) and scalar multiplication (af)(x) = af(x).
Thus the set of functions \mathbb{R}^2 \to \mathbb{R} is a vector space under those operations, which has as a subspace the set of continuously differentiable functions \mathbb{R}^2 \to \mathbb{R}.

Is that what you were after?

 

[JanEnClaesen]

Essentially, I was wondering whether a vector field could be considered as a surface or something more unitary in general. For example (x,y,(x²+y²)^(0.5)) is a cone and a (partial) vector field in space.