Mie calculation

For a given scattering angle it calculates the Mie scattered intensity(1) which depends on the droplet diameter, wavelength of light and the complex refractive indices(2) of the droplet and surrounding medium.  

The Mie functions for each scattered polarised light component are averaged to ultimately present a simulation as would be seen by eye or camera without a polarising filter. The average function is then weighted by the intensity of light actually present at the selected wavelength. When sunlight is simulated, the weighting function is the spectral solar radiance used by Raymond Lee(3) and kindly supplied by him in detailed tabular form for use in IRIS. The scattering results in Lee's paper were also used during the validation of the IRIS code.

Scattering angles

The whole calculation is repeated for a large number of angles over the range required for the fogbow or other phenomenon calculation.
   
   

Droplet size distribution

For non monodisperse droplets, IRIS uses a droplet population function lognormally distributed in radius. All of the above calculations have to be repeated up to 31 times over for the different droplet radii.

Wavelengths

At this stage IRIS has a series of scattered intensities for monochromatic light of the selected wavelength. The whole calculation is then repeated up to several hundred times for different wavelengths from 380 to 700 nm. A further small integration is needed if a solar or lunar disc source is to be simulated rather than a point.

Colours on screen

The accuracy of Mie theory is in contrast to the ability to represent colours of natural phenomena. Neither monitors, TV screens, photographs nor the printed page can accurately display all possible colours. In particular, no pure spectral colour is properly displayed. This is because of limitations of phosphors, pigments and inks and the limited number of them employed -- a mere three in PC monitors for example. The set of limited colours that ARE accurately displayed is the colour gamut of the display device. The problem is how best to approximate the non displayable colours, the out of gamut colours, using ones within the device gamut.

Further challenges are how to deal with issues of white balance, individual perceptions and the circumstances in which real droplet scattering phenomena are viewed. In contrast to rigorous Mie theory, colour representation involves empiricism and approximations and its perception is to a greater or lesser extent subjective.

IRIS has two colour models, "CIE" and "Bruton"

In the "CIE" model IRIS takes empirical CIE (Commission Internationale Eclairage - International Lighting Commission) 1931 tristimulus values for pure spectral components to weight the scattered intensities for a given wavelength. Final out of gamut colour components are approximated to in-gamut values by projective techniques. A Rec709 D65 monitor colour gamut is used with a 6500K white point.

The "Bruton" model is more straightforward. Dan Bruton(4) developed an empirical algorithm to generate in gamut RGB components that represent pure spectral colours. The algorithm produces very realistic spectra. In Bruton colour mode IRIS adds R, G and B components for each wavelength into bins to arrive at final RGB components for each scattering angle.

Multiple scattering, cloud backgrounds

IRIS computes ideal glories, fogbows and coronae in the sense that the simulations correspond to what would be seen if each light ray reaching the eye had only been scattered once. In Nature, there is inevitably some multiple scattering and the phenomena are viewed against or through cloud or bright backgrounds. IRIS has a purely empirical facility to combine the simulation intensities with those of cloud background light. There are also standard image processor functions to adjust contrast, brightness or gamma. These are particularly useful for corona simulations where the tremendous brightness range between the aureole and outer rings is well beyond the puny 256 intensity levels of present day PC monitors.