The Aristotelian rainbow: from philosophy to computer graphics

Abstract

Developments in the graphics discipline called realistic image synthesis are in many ways related to the historical development of theories of light. And theories of light will probably continue to inspire the ongoing search for realism in graphics. To nurture this inspiration, we present the first in-depth, source-based historical study that pinpoints events with relevance for graphics in the development of theories of light. We also show that ancient mathematical models for light scattering phenomena may still find a use in the branch of realistic image synthesis concerned with real-time rendering. As an example we use Aristotle's theory of rainbow formation to construct a method for real-time rendering of rainbows. This example serves as an invitation to use the overview and references provided in this paper, not only for understanding where many of the physical concepts used in graphics come from, but also for finding more mathematical and physical models that are useful in graphics.