POV-Ray : Newsgroups : povray.general : Laser Light & Lenses : Re: Laser Light & Lenses Server Time
10 Aug 2024 23:18:00 EDT (-0400)
  Re: Laser Light & Lenses  
From: Robert Dawson
Date: 7 Oct 1999 10:28:44
Message: <37fcae1c@news.povray.org>
Rick [Kitty5] <pov### [at] dialpipexcom> wrote in message
news:37fca2c2@news.povray.org...
> Hi all,
> Is there any way to create or simulate laser light in POVray, i am wanting
> to send a beam of light througth some lenses and see the results using a
> little media.

Not really.

The best way to simulate a laser ordinarily is to use cylinder_light.

    BUT you cannot send it through lenses, or boounce it off mirrors, at
least in VanillaPov 3.1.  Refraction, etc, works on rays from the object to
the camera, not on the "other sort of light" used for illumination.  One way
to think about it - it's as if POV scenes were fluorescent, illuminated by
"X rays" that made them glow *as*if* they were illuminated by visible light.
A laser beam of X rays might make fluorescent dust in the air light up as if
a visible-light laser were present; but it would not be affected by a lens
or mirror.  But if you *looked* at it through a lens or in a mirror, that
would have an effect.

    Maybe the photon patch can do what you want, I dunno.

-RJMD


Post a reply to this message

Copyright 2003-2023 Persistence of Vision Raytracer Pty. Ltd.