Introduction to spherical harmonics for graphics programmers

2 comments

• vatsachak 22 minutes ago
  Awesome write up. Is the appeal of spherical harmonics in graphics compression?

  Like, if you know the third order harmonics that's only 16 values you have to pass around
• hackingonempty 2 hours ago
  > spherical harmonics can have uses beyond lighting

  This math is also used in Ambisonic surround sound though newer techniques use planewave expansion.

  For games, the full-sphere encoding of Ambisonic B-format can be decoded for arbitrary speaker locations and the soundfield rotated around any axis. I'm not sure if its ever been used for a game though.

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  • vatsachak 37 minutes ago
    Ambisonics can give one end game audio
  • analog31 1 hour ago
    ... also quantum mechanics. The textbook solution for the wavefunction of the hydrogen atom involves spherical harmonics.
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    • hackingonempty 54 minutes ago
      That fact is betrayed by the the similarity of the shapes of atomic orbitals and the sensitivity patterns of Abisonic B-format channels.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambisonics#Higher-order_ambiso...

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_orbital#Orbitals_table

      ...and the same patterns appear on the unit disk with the Zernike polynomials, used to describe optical aberrations and more.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zernike_polynomials