POVRay is a freely available ray tracing package available from http://www.povray.org. This is an example of what can be done with it without too much trouble. Click on an image to see a larger version.

A Lava Lamp:
lava.jpg (512x768 JPEG, 75K)

An experiment with Fresnel lenses (part of a work in progress):
lighthouse.jpg (1024x768 JPEG, 47K)

A design for a coffee table I want to build some day in real life:
table.jpg (1024x768 JPEG, 86K)

My first POVRay test scene - a stack of glass balls (what JPEG compression does to this image is a sin and a shame, so I'm posting a big PNG):
glassball.png (1024x768 PNG, 135K)

Other people's Ray Tracing pages

• David Morgan-Mar Another #callahans regular.