The standard equation is used with N, L and R for, respectively, the surface normal, normalized direction to a light source, and normalized reflection of L off of the surface.
All equations are automatically updated with a user's changes to the illustration.
As in the 2D version, this applet help cement a user's understanding of this essential task. It also helps provide a 3D mental model and avoid confusion caused by 2D descriptions of this 3D phenomenon. Audience The 3D Reflection applet was developed for use in an undergraduate computer graphics programming course and is appropriate chiefly for computer science students and other students who need to calculate light reflection. The reflection equation is displayed at the bottom and coordinate values are substituted for equation variables at the very end. Users can view the whole scene at any position, orientation, and scale with mouse button controls.