Menu
Home
People
Places
Arts
History
Plants & Animals
Science
Life & Culture
Technology
Reference.org
Procedural surface
open-in-new
<p>In <a href="/facts/Computer_graphics/lapBE8wv">computer graphics</a>, a procedural surface is a representation of a <a href="/facts/Surface_(topology)/jK1b1KIG">surface</a> as a mathematical <a href="/facts/Implicit_equation/UJmQ2Cyk">implicit equation</a>, rather than an explicit representation. </p><p>An explicit representation, for example, describes a line as the straight segment going through two given points. A procedural surface is one which is defined as a procedure. </p><p>For example, in <a href="/facts/Computer-aided_design/5gSXrmmN">CAD</a>/<a href="/facts/Computer-aided_manufacturing/gqYHXcK9">Computer-aided manufacturing</a> <a href="/facts/Milling_machine/PVXTgNyz">milling</a> applications, an <a href="/facts/Offset_surface/37v4lMc6">offset surface</a> is a procedural representation because it is defined as the surface which is a fixed distance from another surface. Another well-known procedural edge on a 3D body is the <a href="/facts/Silhouette_edge/Egxn6ywl">silhouette edge</a>. This edge is defined as the collection of points on a surface whose outwards <a href="/facts/Surface_normal/jhtLIhcu">surface normal</a> is perpendicular to the <a href="/facts/View_vector/GfIomenN">view vector</a>. </p><p>Another example of a procedural surface is a <a href="/facts/Metaballs/p8JBwv3L">Blob</a> as illustrated in movies like <i><a href="/facts/The_Abyss/bHc6ad9y">The Abyss</a></i> in the scene where the creature made up of water reaches out and touches the character. The surface is defined as a surface which exists when two or more <a href="/facts/Control_point_(mathematics)/v9L1j4vz">control points</a> are oriented in such a way as to make the contribution potential exceed a certain threshold. Such procedural surfaces require far more processing to calculate, and for this reason are often used in pre-rendered rather than real-time applications. </p><p>This approach is commonly used by structural chemists and was defined by <a href="/facts/Johannes_Diderik_van_der_Waals/WCbnoblK">van der Waals</a> when defining a region of space where the electric charge <a href="/facts/Equipotential_surface/gl3lMpxB">equipotential surface</a> had a definite value. </p>