A functional equation for the specular reflection of rays.
This paper aims to generalize the "radiosity method" when applied to specular reflection. Within the field of thermics, the radiosity method is also called the "standard procedure." The integral equation for incident energy, which is usually derived for diffuse reflection, is replaced by a more appropriate functional equation. The latter is used to solve some specific problems and it is shown that all the classical features of specular reflection, for example, the existence of image sources, are embodied within this equation. This equation can be solved with the ray-tracing technique, despite the implemented mathematics being quite different. Several interesting features of the energy field are presented.
Le Bot
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Laboratoire de Tribologie et Dynamique des Systèmes, Ecole Centrale de Lyon, Ecully, France. alain.le-bot@ec-lyon.fr