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Lighting Design Glossary

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Surface

(Term used in the Radiance software)

Radiance defines all geometry by means of surfaces. There are a number of different surface types, most of which have a front and a back side.

The types are defined as follows:

source
This a virtual surface that should rather be thought of as a solid angle. It is defined by a direction and a diameter in degrees, and is used for specifying light sources that are very distant.
 
polygon
This is the most common surface type. It is defined by three or more coplanar points. The surface normal is determined by the right hand rule.
 
ring
A ring is a circular planar disk, possibly with a hole in the center. It is defined as a center point, the surface normal, the inner radius, which may be zero, and the outer radius.
 
sphere
bubble
Spheres and bubbles are defined by a center point and a radius. A sphere has the surface normal to the outside, a bubble to the inside.
 
cone
cup
Cones and cups are megaphone shaped objects, truncated by two planes perpendicular to their axis. They are defined by two endpoints and a starting and endigh radius, one of which may be zero. A cone has the surface normal to the outside, a cup to the inside.
 
cylinder
tube
Cylinders and tubes are similar to cones and cups, but their starting and ending radii are equal.

 

References:
   radiance software
right hand rule
solid angle
 
 
English    German
bubble    Die Blase
cone    Der Kegel
cup    Die Tasse
cylinder    Der Zylinder
sphere    Die Kugel
surface    Die Oberfläche
tube    Die Röhre
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