Bill DeWitt wrote:
> 
>     Before I set to work on something that I may not be able to do, I
> thought I would ask around.
> 
>     I want to make a telescope that has a focal length of about 2 to 10
> feet, I want it to -really- magnify so that I can observe insects and other
> small life without disturbing them.
> 
>     To figure out where my lenses should be and what lenses I should have, I
> thought I would make a povray macro. I will allow different curvature of
> lenses and show the focal points by extending rods from one point on the
> lens to another. Then I will move my camera and look through it.
> 
>     So my question is, will trace() allow me to do this (Figure out normal
> of the rods leaving the lens...I assume it will, if I can figure out the
> math) and has it been done before.
> 
>     Easy? Medium? Hard? Impossible? I have no previous knowledge of optics
> beyond what you get in physics and astronomy.

I was able to code a few macros based on Snell's Law, and trace() played
a big part in the file. I was doing it to attempt realistic color
dispersion, but it managed to find move a ray through a lens and show
the movement of the ray between mediums with different index of
refractions and different shapes. If I can find it I will send it along.

Josh English
eng### [at] spiritonecom
http://www.spiritone.com/~english

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