3D computer graphics
hide3D computer graphics (in contrast to 2D computer graphics) are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data (often Cartesian) that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images. Such images may be for later display or for real-time viewing.
Despite these differences, 3D computer graphics rely on many of the same algorithms as 2D computer vector graphics in the wire-frame model and 2D computer raster graphics in the final rendered display. In computer graphics software, the distinction between 2D and 3D is occasionally blurred; 2D applications may use 3D techniques to achieve effects such as lighting, and primarily 3D may use 2D rendering techniques.
3D computer graphics are often referred to as 3D models. Apart from the rendered graphic, the model is contained within the graphical data file. However, there are differences. A 3D model is the mathematical representation of any three-dimensional object (either inanimate or living). A model is not technically a graphic until it is visually displayed. Due to 3D printing, 3D models are not confined to virtual space. A model can be displayed visually as a two-dimensional image through a process called 3D rendering, or used in non-graphical computer simulations and calculations.
For more information about 3D computer graphics, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with 3d
Touchable Hologram Becomes Reality (w/ Video)
Aug 06, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (51) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers from the University of Tokyo have developed 3D holograms that can be touched with bare hands. Generally, holograms can't be felt because they're made only of light. But the new ...
Scientists Image the 'Anatomy' of a Molecule (w/ Video)
Aug 28, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (43) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- For the first time, IBM researchers in Zurich, Switzerland, have taken a 3D image of an individual molecule. Using an atomic force microscope, the researchers constructed a "force map" of ...
Creating 3D models with a simple webcam (w/ Video)
Technology / Computer Sciences
Nov 11, 2009 |
5 / 5 (25) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Constructing virtual 3D models usually requires heavy and expensive equipment, or takes lengthy amounts of time. A group of researchers at the University of Cambridge, Qi Pan, Dr Gerhard Reitmayr ...
Researchers Create Microscope With 100 Million Times Finer Resolution Than Current MRI
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Jan 13, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (24) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- IBM Research scientists, in collaboration with the Center for Probing the Nanoscale at Stanford University, have demonstrated magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with volume resolution 100 million ...
Sony Unveils 360-Degree 3D Display (w/ Video)
Oct 22, 2009 |
4.2 / 5 (20) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Today at the DC Expo in Tokyo, Sony has introduced a new 3D display that can be viewed from any direction. Unlike many 3D displays, the new display does not require glasses to view the 3D ...
3-D printing hits rock-bottom prices with homemade ceramics mix
Mar 31, 2009 |
4.9 / 5 (17) |
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This story is, literally, stone age meets digital age: University of Washington researchers are combining the ancient art of ceramics and the new technology of 3-D printing. Along the way, they are making ...
Engineering graduate student narrows gap between high-resolution video and virtual reality
Technology / Computer Sciences
Feb 04, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (15) |
2
(PhysOrg.com) -- With their immersive 3D capabilities, virtual-reality environments (VEs) provide the kind of intense visual experience that two-dimensional digital televisions could never to live up to. But ...
Superior 3D Graphics for the Web a Step Closer
Sep 22, 2009 |
4.1 / 5 (17) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The development of improved three-dimensional graphics in Web-based applications took a step forward recently, when programmers began building WebGL into the Mozilla Firefox nightly builds, ...
Nanoimaging in 3-D
Dec 01, 2009 |
4.9 / 5 (14) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- As technology shrinks ever smaller, interest in objects and devices on the nanoscale becomes more apparent. However, visualizing these objects in three dimensions comes with special challenges. ...
Who cares about the fourth dimension?
Feb 03, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (16) |
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Austrian scientists are trying to understand the mysteries of the holographic principle: How many dimensions are there in our universe?
Active Shutter 3D Technology for HDTV
Sep 25, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (14) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Sony and Panasonic have recently announced a new technology, called "active shutter" for producing the experience of 3D on high definition TVs. The first models are expected to be available ...
See your photos in 3D on new website
Technology / Computer Sciences
Jul 09, 2009 |
4.4 / 5 (13) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- You could turn your holiday snaps or favourite figurines into three-dimensional images with new free software developed by a researcher from Queensland University of Technology and the Australasian ...
Fujifilm unveils 3D digital camera
Electronics / Consumer & Gadgets
Jul 22, 2009 |
3.8 / 5 (12) |
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Japan's Fujifilm unveiled Wednesday a compact digital camera that can be used to shoot three-dimensional (3D) photos and movies that can be viewed without special glasses.
3D TV -- Without the Glasses (w/ Video)
Oct 29, 2009 |
3.8 / 5 (12) |
9
(PhysOrg.com) -- Even with "active shutter" 3D technology for television sets, the wearing of special glasses is still required in order to get the proper experience. They aren't those red and blue or red and ...
Scary ancient spiders revealed in 3-D models, thanks to new imaging technique (w/ Video)
Aug 05, 2009 |
4.9 / 5 (8) |
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Early relatives of spiders that lived around 300 million years ago are revealed in new three-dimensional models, in research published today in the journal Biology Letters.
