6.5. Intersection Tree Generation. 6.5. Intersection Tree Generation.
Fig. 6.3 : Intersection Tree
Figure 6.3 has been taken from [WHIT 80] and demonstrates the
generation of the tree. Each initial ray projected into the scene
will produce an intersection tree if it strikes any object within
the viewing area. A node is added to the tree each time an object
is intersected. This node now forks off two possible new rays,
one for the reflected ray (if the object reflects light) and one
for the transmitted ray (if the object is transparent). Each of
these two new rays is then tested to see if it intersects any
objects within the viewing area, and so on. Theoretically, this
process could go on ad infinitum. Therefore, most ray tracing
algorithms allow the user to specify the maximum level to which
the tree will be generated.
