In article <mat### [at] netplexaussieorg>,
 Matthew Pace <mat### [at] lycoscom> wrote:

> > First question:
> >    You are actually asking for the normal of an object at v1: use trace()
> >    to shoot a ray at v1 and get the normal (your v2) at this point.
> >    (look for trace at "6.1.4.6 Vector Functions")
> 
> Ah, I have heard of good reviews of trace(), I shall check it out and 
> see what it can do for me.  I did not know, however, that a normal was 
> simply the way the reflection, although I guess it makes sense.

The normal is perpendicular to the surface, which is what I suppose you 
meant by "opposite" to the surface. It isn't the direction of a 
reflection, though it bisects the direction the incoming ray comes from 
and the direction the reflected ray goes.

-- 
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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