Fénykövetés

Fénykövetés, translated as "light following" or "ray tracing" in English, is a rendering technique used in computer graphics to simulate the physical behavior of light. It works by tracing the path of individual light rays as they travel from a light source, bounce off surfaces, and eventually reach the camera. This method allows for highly realistic depictions of how light interacts with objects, creating effects such as accurate reflections, refractions, soft shadows, and global illumination.

Unlike simpler rendering methods that approximate lighting, ray tracing calculates the color and intensity of each pixel by simulating these complex light interactions. Each ray is followed until it either hits a light source, escapes the scene, or is absorbed. When a ray hits a surface, new rays are generated to represent reflection, refraction, or shadow casting. This computationally intensive process results in images that closely resemble photographs.

The advantage of Fénykövetés lies in its physical accuracy, which leads to unparalleled realism. However, its main disadvantage is its significant computational cost, making real-time ray tracing challenging for complex scenes. Advancements in hardware, such as dedicated ray tracing cores in GPUs, and algorithmic optimizations are making Fénykövetés more accessible for real-time applications like video games and interactive simulations, alongside its established use in offline rendering for film and architectural visualization.