Real-time glass, in five terms.
Iridescence — Color that shifts with your point of view. Light waves reflecting from a thin surface interfere, producing the subtle green and violet you see at the edges.
Index of refraction — A measure of how much a material bends light. As light passes from air into glass, it slows and changes direction, reshaping what lies behind it.
Dispersion — The separation of light into its constituent colors. Each wavelength bends by a slightly different amount, revealing a spectrum along refracted edges.
Transmission — The passage of light through a surface. Unlike opacity, transmission preserves reflections and the way light travels through the material’s thickness.
Roughness — The microscopic texture that scatters reflected light. Low values give sharp, mirror-like highlights; higher values soften them into a quiet, frosted glow.