What's new in OpticalRayTracer 9.2
Aug 1, 2015
- Fixed a subtle bug that prevented timely optical component updates after certain program parameters were changed, added a reset button that resets only program values, not optical components.
New in OpticalRayTracer 9.1 (May 19, 2015)
- By user request, added a simple command-line interface to support test automation methods.
New in OpticalRayTracer 9.0 (May 8, 2015)
- Trapped an on-axis overflow error condition in the planar curvature class.
New in OpticalRayTracer 8.9 (Feb 6, 2015)
- Changed the control layout, revised the help file for greater clarity, added a graphic image that shows how a lens is defined by overlapping spheres.
New in OpticalRayTracer 8.8 (Feb 6, 2015)
- Recoded the management of the planar curvature class, added element center thickness to the configuration class (meaning it's now included in clipboard data and the initialization file), edited the help file to reflect recent changes and to simplify the dispersion experiment.
New in OpticalRayTracer 8.7 (Feb 5, 2015)
- Added a display of element-center thickness, corrected an inconsistency in how element edge thickness was specified
New in OpticalRayTracer 8.6 (Feb 2, 2015)
- Cleaned up on-axis solution code, solely to avoid ugly code, no change in behavior.
New in OpticalRayTracer 8.5 (Jan 29, 2015)
- Further changes to address more on-axis edge cases.
New in OpticalRayTracer 8.4 (Jan 26, 2015)
- Coded a more efficient on-axis overflow method tuned for each element class. Added "Common Problems" section to help file.
New in OpticalRayTracer 8.3 (Jan 22, 2015)
- Fixed a bug in the parabolic curvature class that created a non-physical on-axis deflection.
New in OpticalRayTracer 8.2 (Dec 22, 2014)
- Added a planar curvature class to avoid problems associated with using large spherical radii to imitate planar surfaces.
New in OpticalRayTracer 8.1 (Nov 13, 2014)
- Fixed a bug in the spherical lens model that failed to detect a small subset of ray-surface intersections, changed how minimum lens thickness is computed to prevent an optical problem, updated the help file content.
New in OpticalRayTracer 8.0 (Nov 13, 2014)
- Recoded much of the basic ray tracing engine to use vectors instead of scalars, with a big improvement in stability and accuracy. A number of difficult edge cases are solved by this change.
New in OpticalRayTracer 7.9 (Nov 13, 2014)
- Finally sorted out the Snell's Law lens refraction computation issues. OpticalRaytracer's refraction results are now as precise as entered lens data allow.
New in OpticalRayTracer 7.8 (Nov 8, 2014)
- Revised the Snell's Law code block to make displayed results more closely approximate exact Snell's Law computations. The Snell's Law computations have always been approximate, but the outcomes are now closer to reality.
New in OpticalRayTracer 7.7 (Nov 7, 2014)
- Fixed a subtle error in how a certain kind of multiple lens refraction is tallied -- how multiple transitions into and out of a single medium's acute surface are computed.
New in OpticalRayTracer 7.6 (Nov 5, 2014)
- Fixed a number of uncovered and reported bugs, made a few minor improvements, changed the lens surface detection method.
New in OpticalRayTracer 7.5 (Nov 4, 2014)
- Fixed a number of reported bugs having to do with edge cases in the behavior of lenses, refactored the control manager class for better comprehensibility.
New in OpticalRayTracer 7.4 (Nov 3, 2014)
- Added parabolic curvature to the supported lens/mirror curvature types, changed the user interface, cleaned up and refactored much of the code structure to address the much larger code base recently created.
New in OpticalRayTracer 7.3 (Nov 1, 2014)
- Recoded the spherical and hyperbolic generators for more shared structure and code, improved the Python/SymPy function generators to make future changes easier.
New in OpticalRayTracer 7.2 (Oct 31, 2014)
- Replaced the spherical model algorithm with one that's more efficient and that shares some mathematical and technical aspects in common with the hyperbolic model. Resolved a reported locale issue.
New in OpticalRayTracer 7.1 (Oct 31, 2014)
- Improved the algorithms responsible for managing surfaces to avoid some annoying and unphysical edge-case behaviors.
New in OpticalRayTracer 7.0 (Oct 29, 2014)
- Fixed a bug related to parabolic curves and mirrors, fixed another that prevented correct operation at user-entered angles that were multiples of 90 degrees, changed to a more robust hyperbolic generation scheme.
New in OpticalRayTracer 6.9 (Oct 28, 2014)
- Solved some technical issues with rotating reflecting surfaces, explored the approximate parabolic curve option accessible by very large number entries to the hyperbolic curvature control.
New in OpticalRayTracer 6.8 (Oct 28, 2014)
- Created a scheme to prevent the sides of lenses from crossing over, which can be very confusing as well as unphysical.
- Fixed a serious bug in how reflections were calculated.
New in OpticalRayTracer 6.7 (Oct 27, 2014)
- Fixed a bug that prevented creation of concave hyperbolic lenses.
New in OpticalRayTracer 6.6 (Oct 27, 2014)
- Refactored the hyperbolic model for greater accuracy and efficiency, added fields to data table, added the ability to copy individual table lines to system clipboard, cleaned up small bugs in other areas.
New in OpticalRayTracer 6.5 (Oct 25, 2014)
- Recoded the spectral dispersion algorithm to agree more closely with the underlying physics.
New in OpticalRayTracer 6.4 (Oct 25, 2014)
- Improved table formatting for both the internal and HTML exported tables, changed the table data format and layout.
New in OpticalRayTracer 6.3 (Oct 24, 2014)
- Replaced the HTML table display with one based on a Swing table component for much better update speed.
New in OpticalRayTracer 6.2 (Oct 24, 2014)
- Replaced intersection dots with arrows, which tell the user the direction the beam is heading.
- Reworked the dispersion computation to better reflect the underlying physics.
- Fixed a number of bugs that came up in testing.
New in OpticalRayTracer 6.1 (Oct 23, 2014)
- Fixed a regression/bug, introduced in recent major code changes, that prevented creation of concave lenses.
New in OpticalRayTracer 6.0 (Oct 22, 2014)
- Optimized a critical part of the hyperbolic model code, fixed a bug that affected treatment of a lens that's half spherical and half hyperbolic.
New in OpticalRayTracer 5.8 (Oct 20, 2014)
- Added a few more controls, arranged for a child help window to be cloneable/detachable from the main app window for more convenient interactive browsing.
New in OpticalRayTracer 5.2 (Oct 16, 2014)
- Fixed an issue with the new proximity detector, added an input for surface epsilon to allow users to fine-tune the ray tracer's response for special applications, added surface normal angle to the ray data table and dialog.
New in OpticalRayTracer 3.2 (Jan 8, 2013)
- At the suggestion of a user, added an option to rotate light beams with respect to the X origin rather than the X target plane, increased the beam rotation rate of change when adjusted using the mouse wheel, fixed additional small bugs.
New in OpticalRayTracer 2.8 (Jan 26, 2010)
- Fixed a bug that made lenses twice as thick as the user specified.