Ken wrote:
>
> Lance Birch wrote:
> >
> > David Fontaine wrote:
> > > Heat also refracts light, like the puddle-on-the-road mirage. So light
> > would
> > > bend away from the center of the flame, no?
> >
> > Well, it's not really the heat that does it, just the density change
caused
> > by the heat, but yes you're right, it will.  Because the air in the
flame is
> > hotter, it will be less dense, so a ray of light going in to it should
bend
> > away from the normal (if you were to draw the normal right through that
is).
>
> Which will also vary depending on where you intersect the flame since
> there are varying temperatures within the flame itself.

That's right, which is why it's such a difficult thing to accurately model.
The other thing that makes it hard is that because it isn't a solid object,
the changes in density aren't as black and white (which means neither is the
normal)... I have no idea how someone would go about doing it perfectly.

--
Lance.

http://come.to/the.zone

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