Orchid XP v8 wrote:

> 
> Wait - I just said "are they just reflections of the light source".
> 
> So are they or aren't they?
> 

They are, sort of. In the real world, highlights would be caused by very 
fine irregularities on the surface. which will invariably reflect some 
of the light from the light source to your eye. What you see, then is a 
diffused reflection of the object's surroundings. Some of which may 
actually be a light source.

Highlights as POV-Ray defines them is a sort of short cut. Depending on 
rougness, or highlight size, depends on the angles at which the 
highlight can be seen. It's a mathematical shortcut to simulate a 
(slightly) rough surface without needing to use such things as 
micronormals, or shooting thousands of rays from each point of the 
surface. Instead they use a simple formula to get what they need.
-- 
~Mike

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