Xref: utzoo sci.math:4175 comp.graphics:2773 Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!bellcore!rutgers!cmcl2!nrl-cmf!ames!lll-tis!aftac.tis.llnl.gov!carlson From: carlson@aftac.tis.llnl.gov (John Carlson) Newsgroups: sci.math,comp.graphics Subject: Intersections in spherical coordinates Message-ID: <22321@tis.llnl.gov> Date: 12 Jul 88 01:04:51 GMT Sender: news@tis.llnl.gov Reply-To: carlson@aftac.tis.llnl.gov (John Carlson) Organization: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore CA Lines: 22 I would like to intersect a line with the surface defined in spherical coordinates rho = A + B * cos (C * theta) * cos (D * phi) where A, B, C and D are arbitrary constants, and cos is cosine. (Try |C| < 1 or |D| < 1) I am currently using a bounding sphere, Newtons's method and bisection if Newton's fails. Is there a good reference on intersections of lines and surfaces in spherical coordinates? Can I take the trigonometry out of the problem? Does a deterministic method exist for breaking up the surface into polygons if C and D aren't integers? Thank you, John Carlson carlson@aftac.tis.llnl.gov