In article <3fb2af10@news.povray.org>, Warp <war### [at] tagpovrayorg> 
wrote:

> Christopher James Huff <cja### [at] earthlinknet> wrote:
> > glass reflection isn't really very variable.
> 
>   That depends a lot in the type of glass and its coating layer.
>   There are certain types of glass surface finishes which exhibit a very
> pronounced variable reflection. When you look at the glass right from
> the front, it reflects some, but you can mostly see through it. However,
> when you look at it at a sharp angle, it's almost like a mirror.

True, but the surface coating that shows these effects usually isn't 
glass, but polymers to reinforce the glass, protect it from weathering, 
and block glare and UV. I haven't seen any glass that shows strong 
variable reflection...but I haven't looked at many types. There may be 
types that show this effect more strongly...

Surface coatings like this are something to keep in mind when making 
textures, though...as another example, a colored, dull object may have a 
colorless reflective glaze. Since the reflection comes from a colorless 
material, it is not tinted with the color of the surface. A chrome ball 
with a transparent red coating will have very different reflections from 
a red ceramic ball with clear glaze.

-- 
Christopher James Huff <cja### [at] earthlinknet>
http://home.earthlink.net/~cjameshuff/
POV-Ray TAG: chr### [at] tagpovrayorg
http://tag.povray.org/

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