ray tracing

1 definition found

ray tracing - Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (26 May 2007) :

  ray tracing
  
     <graphics> A technique used in computer graphics to create
     realistic images by calculating the paths taken by rays of
     light entering the observer's eye at different angles.  The
     paths are traced backward from the viewpoint, through a point
     (a pixel) in the image plane until they hit some object in
     the scene or go off to infinity.  Objects are modelled as
     collections of abutting surfaces which may be rectangles,
     triangles, or more complicated shapes such as 3D splines.
     The optical properties of different surfaces (colour,
     reflectance, transmitance, refraction, texture) also affect
     how it will contribute to the colour and brightness of the
     ray.  The position, colour, and brightness of light sources,
     including ambient lighting, is also taken into account.
  
     Ray tracing is an ideal application for parallel processing
     since there are many pixels, each of whose values is
     independent and can thus be calculated in parallel.
  
     Compare: radiosity.
  
     Usenet newsgroup: news:comp.graphics.raytracing.
  
     
  (http://directory.google.com/Top/Computers/Software/Graphics/3D/Ray_Tracing/).
  
     (2003-09-11)