What is a .RAY file?
A .RAY file is a special kind of computer file used by certain programs to understand how light behaves. Imagine you have a flashlight and you turn it on in a dark room. The light that comes out and bounces around the room is similar to what a .RAY file describes, but in a way that a computer can understand. This file can talk about lots of light rays, from just a few to millions, and it tells the computer things like the color of the light, how bright it is, and where it starts from.
People use .RAY files in programs made by a company called Synopsys, with two popular ones being LightTools and LucidShape. These programs are like digital workbenches where engineers and designers can play with light on their computers. They might be working on making car headlights that don't blind other drivers, designing a projector that can show clear pictures on a screen, or figuring out the best way to catch sunlight on a solar panel. To make a .RAY file, someone might measure light from real things like a lamp or the sun using special equipment, and then these measurements are saved into the file. Later, they can open this file in LightTools or LucidShape to see how the light would look in a new design they are working on, like a new type of lightbulb or a streetlight. This helps them make better designs by understanding how light will actually behave before they build anything real.
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