Source Filament
The Source Filament can be thought of as a thin wire coiled in a helix shape. The wire turns "N" times along the full Z coordinate length given by "L". The radius of the turns is defined by "R". Rays emanate from a randomly chosen point along the helix in a random direction.
The parameters used to define this source are:
| Parameter # | Definition |
| 1-5 | See " Parameters common to all source objects " . |
| 6 | Length "L" in lens units. |
| 7 | Radius "R" in lens units. |
| 8 | Number of turns "N" (dimensionless). N may be fractional or even negative to reverse the rotation direction of the helix. |
The axis of the helix, and the length L, are oriented along the Z axis.
Use with LightningTrace
The angular distribution of the source is uniform, i.e. it is identical to that for a point source. The size and spatial distribution of the source is neglected. As such, the Radius (parameter 7) and Number of turns (parameter 8) values have no impact on the LightningTrace results, and the only effect that the Length of the filament (parameter 6) has on the results is to position the center of the LightningTrace mesh at the axial center of the filament.
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