Mayan-Seraph
07-26-2005, 06:19 PM
(See attachment)
When a ray of light passes through the boundry surface seperating 2 areas with a different refraction index, it's angle relative to the normal is changed according to Snell's law (text in the bottom of the image)
Angle 2 indicates the angle relative to normal inside the material, and angle 1 indicates the angle relative to the normal outside the material. In the case of glass of uniform thickness, angle1a=angle1b and angle2a=angle2b on grounds of symmetry.
So, I expect glass of finite thickness to appear to slightly move an object that is seen through it as compared to it's position as seen without glass.
The Problem:
How on Earth do I tell Maya what the in or outside of a shape is? Sure I can set the refraction index of a texture in Maya, but WHAT is the meaning of a refraction index to a FLAT surface? (ie no volume? No inside/outside?)
When a ray of light passes through the boundry surface seperating 2 areas with a different refraction index, it's angle relative to the normal is changed according to Snell's law (text in the bottom of the image)
Angle 2 indicates the angle relative to normal inside the material, and angle 1 indicates the angle relative to the normal outside the material. In the case of glass of uniform thickness, angle1a=angle1b and angle2a=angle2b on grounds of symmetry.
So, I expect glass of finite thickness to appear to slightly move an object that is seen through it as compared to it's position as seen without glass.
The Problem:
How on Earth do I tell Maya what the in or outside of a shape is? Sure I can set the refraction index of a texture in Maya, but WHAT is the meaning of a refraction index to a FLAT surface? (ie no volume? No inside/outside?)