[Artistus]

Hi there!

Can there be some feature added to simulate black hole influence on light path bending?
Useful for space visualizations. If the render is physically based, let it include effects of relativity theory!

It would be interesting to see what we could achieve with something like mass attribute with trillions of tons available to set there and have some multiplier for quick previewing the changes. It could be even some sort of space warp modifier (not physically based, but useful) with primary radius (black hole - max effect) and secondary radius (no effect)... and something like log value for the gradient of light bending power between those radii. If the object size is bigger than primary radius (neutron star), then it is visible, but light bending shows some portion of it's back surface on the peripheral area of it's disk. Etc etc.

As well , could there be some sort of redshift and blueshift of light simulated depending on speed of the objects or particles. Could be useful in visualizing different things like accretion disk around black hole or neutron star and it's light color change on the different sides of rotating accretion disk.

Thoughts are more conceptual, but if that could make any sense it could be added IMO. Thanks

[luis.hijarrubia]

Altough all this can be simulated, and had already be done, it needs specific software. This is for most of commercial rendering software, not Maxwell specific:

Bleding the light path is not that easy. We have a lot of optimizations by having linear paths and infinite light speed. And it's quite common to transform the ray to Object coordinates to check colission with it's triangles. And transforming to other coordinates a non linear ray path, like the one curved by heavy gravity, can be really tricky.