TITLE: Snail1
NAME: Stefano Basso
COUNTRY: Italy
EMAIL: bassos@iol.it
WEBPAGE: None
TOPIC: Math and Physics
COPYRIGHT: I SUBMIT TO THE STANDARD RAYTRACING COMPETITION COPYRIGHT.
JPGFILE: snail1.jpg
ZIPFILE: snail1.zip
RENDERER USED: 
    Povray 3.0

TOOLS USED: 
    None

RENDER TIME: 
    37'20''

HARDWARE USED: 
    Pentium 120 Mhz 32Mb RAM

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: 

  This image is a pure 3d mathematical plot , generated by a 2Kb pov file.
The shape is a perfect logarithmic snail, identical to those you see during
spring in the wet countrysides , usually after a storm .
I didn't use expensive math-software or weighty plug-ins , nor particular Pov
related programs.
As you promote to use cheap tools I used Povray 3.0 only with its new looping
and conditional functionalities , and nothing more .


DESCRIPTION OF HOW THIS IMAGE WAS CREATED: 

 This file instructs Pov 3 to perform various calculations ; in simple words
it calculates values for a translation of a sphere .
Every set of values is for the <X,Y,Z> translation vector .
I put two parameters , A and B going from a min_value to a max_value in a
number of steps ; the higher the steps the more dense the shape you get .
dens_A * dens_B = number of spheres in the shape .
Obviously if you change the equations after X= , Y= and Z= you'll get a lot
of different 3d shapes. (Spheres , Toruses , Cubes , Horns , Drops , Tubes ,
made of "sub-objects", a sort of a cloud .
Have fun !
Stefano