{"id":17974,"date":"2022-06-16T12:15:38","date_gmt":"2022-06-16T10:15:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/g100.us\/?p=17974"},"modified":"2022-09-05T17:56:51","modified_gmt":"2022-09-05T15:56:51","slug":"ior-index-of-refraction-list","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/g100.us\/ior-index-of-refraction-list\/","title":{"rendered":"IOR \/ Index of Refraction List For Common Materials [For Use In 3D Materials \/ Rendering]"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_39 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\">TABLE OF CONTENTS<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-668447826dacf\" class=\"cssicon\"><span style=\"display: flex;align-items: center;width: 35px;height: 30px;justify-content: center;direction:ltr;\"><svg style=\"fill: #7f11e0;color:#7f11e0\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\" \/><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #7f11e0;color:#7f11e0\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\" \/><\/svg><\/span><\/label><label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-668447826dacf\" class=\"cssiconcheckbox\">1<\/label><input type=\"checkbox\" id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-668447826dacf\" checked><nav><ul class=\"ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 \"><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/ior-index-of-refraction-list\/#What_Is_IOR_Index_of_Refraction\" title=\"What Is IOR (Index of Refraction)?\">What Is IOR (Index of Refraction)?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/ior-index-of-refraction-list\/#Why_Is_IOR_Important\" title=\"Why Is IOR Important?\">Why Is IOR Important?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/ior-index-of-refraction-list\/#How_Do_You_Use_IOR\" title=\"How Do You Use IOR?\">How Do You Use IOR?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/ior-index-of-refraction-list\/#IOR_Refraction_vs_Reflection\" title=\"IOR Refraction vs Reflection\">IOR Refraction vs Reflection<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/ior-index-of-refraction-list\/#IOR_List_for_Common_materials\" title=\"IOR List for Common materials\">IOR List for Common materials<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/ior-index-of-refraction-list\/#FAQ\" title=\"FAQ\">FAQ<\/a><ul class=\"ez-toc-list-level-3\"><li class=\"ez-toc-heading-level-3\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/ior-index-of-refraction-list\/#How_Do_You_Calculate_the_Index_of_Refraction_of_a_Given_Material\" title=\"How Do You Calculate the Index of Refraction of a Given Material?\">How Do You Calculate the Index of Refraction of a Given Material?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/ior-index-of-refraction-list\/#Can_the_Index_of_Refraction_Ever_Be_Less_Than_1\" title=\"Can the Index of Refraction Ever Be Less Than 1?\">Can the Index of Refraction Ever Be Less Than 1?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/ior-index-of-refraction-list\/#What_Is_the_Difference_Between_a_Higher_or_Lower_Index_of_Refraction\" title=\"What Is the Difference Between a Higher or Lower Index of Refraction?\">What Is the Difference Between a Higher or Lower Index of Refraction?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/ior-index-of-refraction-list\/#Why_Do_Some_Render_Engines_Have_Many_Different_IOR_Fields_Whereas_Some_Have_Only_One\" title=\"Why Do Some Render Engines Have Many Different IOR Fields Whereas Some Have Only One?\">Why Do Some Render Engines Have Many Different IOR Fields Whereas Some Have Only One?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/ior-index-of-refraction-list\/#Over_to_You\" title=\"Over to You\">Over to You<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>IOR, or &#8220;Index of Refraction.&#8221; You might've heard these words being thrown around if you've ever looked at a metal or glass shader tutorial.<\/p>\n<p>But what is it really?<\/p>\n<p>It's hard to find a simple answer to explain what it's all about, so I'll be changing that in this article and explaining what exactly IOR is, why it's important, how you use it, and layout some common IOR values for materials so that you can use them in your <a href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/best-software-for-3d-modeling\/\">3D Application<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/best-3d-render-engines\/\">Renderer of choice<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_17986\" style=\"width: 2048px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><noscript><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-17986\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-17986\" src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-19.png\" alt=\"A ray of light is refracted in a plastic block.\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1361\" srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-19.png 2048w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-19-300x199.png 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-19-1024x681.png 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-19-768x510.png 768w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-19-1536x1021.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"><\/noscript><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-17986\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-17986 lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%202048%201361%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" alt=\"A ray of light is refracted in a plastic block.\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1361\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%202048%201361%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-19.png 2048w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-19-300x199.png 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-19-1024x681.png 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-19-768x510.png 768w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-19-1536x1021.png 1536w\" data-src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-19.png\"><p id=\"caption-attachment-17986\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image Credit: <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:Refraction_photo.png\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Wikipedia<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_Is_IOR_Index_of_Refraction\"><\/span>What Is IOR (Index of Refraction)?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>IOR, in short, is a number that tells you how much and what direction light bends when going through a medium (E.g. glass).<\/p>\n<p>For most rendering application needs: lower IOR values equal more refraction, and higher IOR values equal more reflection.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_17987\" style=\"width: 1920px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><noscript><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-17987\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-17987\" src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-20.png\" alt=\"Example made in Blender to illustrate the difference between\u2014going from the left\u2014a glass cube with an IOR of 1.45, a glass cube with an IOR of 100, and a metallic cube with no roughness. Notice the mirror-esque appearance of the glass cube in the middle with an IOR of 100.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-20.png 1920w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-20-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-20-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-20-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-20-1536x864.png 1536w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-20-1200x675.png 1200w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-20-825x464.png 825w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-20-594x335.png 594w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-20-420x236.png 420w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\"><\/noscript><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-17987\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-17987 lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%201920%201080%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" alt=\"Example made in Blender to illustrate the difference between\u2014going from the left\u2014a glass cube with an IOR of 1.45, a glass cube with an IOR of 100, and a metallic cube with no roughness. Notice the mirror-esque appearance of the glass cube in the middle with an IOR of 100.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%201920%201080%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-20.png 1920w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-20-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-20-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-20-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-20-1536x864.png 1536w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-20-1200x675.png 1200w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-20-825x464.png 825w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-20-594x335.png 594w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-20-420x236.png 420w\" data-src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-20.png\"><p id=\"caption-attachment-17987\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Example made in Blender to illustrate the difference between\u2014going from the left\u2014a glass cube with an IOR of 1.45, a glass cube with an IOR of 100, and a metallic cube with no roughness. Notice the mirror-esque appearance of the glass cube in the middle with an IOR of 100.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Now, you might be asking <strong><em>why does light bend when going through a medium?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>To explain this, I'll shamelessly steal the example that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=y55tzg_jW9I\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Khan from Khan Academy provided in his great introductory video to refraction<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><noscript><iframe title=\"Refraction and Snell&#039;s law | Geometric optics | Physics | Khan Academy\" width=\"960\" height=\"540\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/y55tzg_jW9I?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/noscript><iframe title=\"Refraction and Snell&#039;s law | Geometric optics | Physics | Khan Academy\" width=\"960\" height=\"540\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/y55tzg_jW9I?feature=oembed\" class=\" lazyload\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Imagine a car cruising along an asphalt road. A little ways away, the road changes to mud. If the car is coming in at an angle, however slight, one of the front tires of the car\u2014let's use the right tire for this example\u2014will hit the mud before the rest of the tires.<\/p>\n<p>Now, at that moment, the right front tire of the car will slow down on the mud while the other three tires keep going at the same speed they were originally going.<\/p>\n<p>Because of this, the car will turn towards the right tire, <strong><em>bending its original trajectory<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-18001\" src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/IOR-analogy-car-driving-on-road.jpg\" alt=\"IOR analogy car driving on road\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/IOR-analogy-car-driving-on-road.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/IOR-analogy-car-driving-on-road-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/IOR-analogy-car-driving-on-road-1024x540.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/IOR-analogy-car-driving-on-road-768x405.jpg 768w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/IOR-analogy-car-driving-on-road-1536x810.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-18001 lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%202048%201080%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" alt=\"IOR analogy car driving on road\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%202048%201080%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/IOR-analogy-car-driving-on-road.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/IOR-analogy-car-driving-on-road-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/IOR-analogy-car-driving-on-road-1024x540.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/IOR-analogy-car-driving-on-road-768x405.jpg 768w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/IOR-analogy-car-driving-on-road-1536x810.jpg 1536w\" data-src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/IOR-analogy-car-driving-on-road.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p>This is the same principle at play when it comes to light. You just change the car to be billions of light rays, the road to be medium one, and mud to be medium two. This is called the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Snell%27s_law\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">law of refraction or Snell's Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_18002\" style=\"width: 2048px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><noscript><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-18002\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-18002 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/Refraction-explaination.jpg\" alt=\"Refraction explaination\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/Refraction-explaination.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/Refraction-explaination-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/Refraction-explaination-1024x540.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/Refraction-explaination-768x405.jpg 768w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/Refraction-explaination-1536x810.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"><\/noscript><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-18002\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-18002 size-full lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%202048%201080%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" alt=\"Refraction explaination\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%202048%201080%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/Refraction-explaination.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/Refraction-explaination-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/Refraction-explaination-1024x540.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/Refraction-explaination-768x405.jpg 768w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/Refraction-explaination-1536x810.jpg 1536w\" data-src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/Refraction-explaination.jpg\"><p id=\"caption-attachment-18002\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A demonstration of the law of refraction<\/p><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_Is_IOR_Important\"><\/span>Why Is IOR Important?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>IOR is important because it allows us to configure the refraction of any given material in a much more realistic way as opposed to just turning up or down a &#8220;reflectivity&#8221; slider or something.<\/p>\n<p>This is because we can figure out the IOR of materials in real life and then pretty much directly input those numbers into our shaders when we want to get extremely accurate materials.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_Do_You_Use_IOR\"><\/span>How Do You Use IOR?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>IOR can be implemented in a variety of ways across different <a href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/best-3d-render-engines\/\">render engines<\/a>, so there's no easy way to say that &#8220;this is how you should use IOR.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Some render engines only expose one simple &#8220;IOR&#8221; variable where you can input the IOR that you desire, and that's it.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_17989\" style=\"width: 450px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><noscript><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-17989\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-17989\" src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-22.png\" alt=\"The singular IOR option in Blender's Principled BSDF node.\" width=\"450\" height=\"696\" srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-22.png 636w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-22-194x300.png 194w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\"><\/noscript><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-17989\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-17989 lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%20450%20696%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" alt=\"The singular IOR option in Blender's Principled BSDF node.\" width=\"450\" height=\"696\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%20450%20696%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E 450w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-22.png 636w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-22-194x300.png 194w\" data-src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-22.png\"><p id=\"caption-attachment-17989\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The singular IOR option in Blender's Principled BSDF node.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>And then there are <em>other<\/em> render engines where both reflection and refraction options ask for IOR values.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_18107\" style=\"width: 450px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><noscript><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-18107\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-18107\" src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/IOR-Values-in-Redshift-Render-Engine.jpg\" alt=\"IOR Values in Redshift Render Engine\" width=\"450\" height=\"777\" srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/IOR-Values-in-Redshift-Render-Engine.jpg 547w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/IOR-Values-in-Redshift-Render-Engine-174x300.jpg 174w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\"><\/noscript><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-18107\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-18107 lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%20450%20777%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" alt=\"IOR Values in Redshift Render Engine\" width=\"450\" height=\"777\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%20450%20777%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E 450w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/IOR-Values-in-Redshift-Render-Engine.jpg 547w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/IOR-Values-in-Redshift-Render-Engine-174x300.jpg 174w\" data-src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/IOR-Values-in-Redshift-Render-Engine.jpg\"><p id=\"caption-attachment-18107\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">IOR Values in Redshift Render Engine<\/p><\/div>\n<p>That's because, by taking the IOR value of the material and the direction at which the light ray hits the surface, you can calculate the <em>reflectivity<\/em> of the material along with its refraction.<\/p>\n<p>By default, in Redshift, the Refraction Value is linked to the Reflection IOR value. But you can uncouple them for more control in specific situations like rendering e.g. soap bubbles. A soap bubble would have a Refraction IOR of almost 1, while the Reflection would want to be increased.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_17990\" style=\"width: 1834px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><noscript><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-17990\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"img-with-border wp-image-17990\" src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-23.png\" alt=\"How IOR affects reflectivity within Redshift.\" width=\"1834\" height=\"756\" srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-23.png 1834w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-23-300x124.png 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-23-1024x422.png 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-23-768x317.png 768w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-23-1536x633.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1834px) 100vw, 1834px\"><\/noscript><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-17990\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"img-with-border wp-image-17990 lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%201834%20756%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" alt=\"How IOR affects reflectivity within Redshift.\" width=\"1834\" height=\"756\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%201834%20756%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E 1834w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1834px) 100vw, 1834px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-23.png 1834w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-23-300x124.png 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-23-1024x422.png 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-23-768x317.png 768w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-23-1536x633.png 1536w\" data-src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-23.png\"><p id=\"caption-attachment-17990\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image Credit: Maxon - An example given by the Redshift documentation on IOR and how it affects reflectivity within Redshift.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>This gives you more control to really fine-tune the look of your materials.<\/p>\n<p>Some other render engines even give you extremely detailed control through RGB values.<\/p>\n<p>They allow you to specify <em>exactly<\/em> how individual red, green, and blue light refract and reflect off of a material. Unless you're making <strong><em>extremely<\/em><\/strong> realistic materials or working with caustics, you don't need this much control, but you can do some cool NPR (Non-Photorealistic) materials with it, so it's nice to have.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"IOR_Refraction_vs_Reflection\"><\/span>IOR Refraction vs Reflection<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>There's a lot of confusion around IOR, especially because each 3D Render Engine has their own special way of configuration and inputting values.<\/p>\n<p>In Blender's Cycles you have a separate Refractive Shader for something like Glass, in Redshift you can use the Standard Shader that lets you set both Reflection and Refraction, and don't get me started on V-Ray that again has its own little quirks.<\/p>\n<p>Anyway, you take a look at IOR lists, see glass and diamond on there, and probably water and milk among other fluids and solid refractive materials.<\/p>\n<p>But then you see asphalt and aluminium and start to wonder if you have a grasp on what IOR is because last I checked, you can't see through asphalt or aluminum foil, and there really shouldn't be an IOR (Refraction) value to be set, right?<\/p>\n<p><em>Well here's the thing:<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The Redshift Material already hints at it. The default material setting <em><strong>couples<\/strong> <\/em>the IOR of Refraction and Reflection. If you set an IOR of 1.5 in Reflection, this is copied into Refraction as well.<\/p>\n<p>So even though you can't see through asphalt, it still has an IOR value.<\/p>\n<p><strong>IOR only indicates how much a ray is <em>bent<\/em> when entering a different medium, not how transparent an object is!<\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_18110\" style=\"width: 2048px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><noscript><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-18110\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-18110\" src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/Different-IOR-Values-visualized.jpg\" alt=\"Different IOR Values visualized\" width=\"2048\" height=\"780\" srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/Different-IOR-Values-visualized.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/Different-IOR-Values-visualized-300x114.jpg 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/Different-IOR-Values-visualized-1024x390.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/Different-IOR-Values-visualized-768x293.jpg 768w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/Different-IOR-Values-visualized-1536x585.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"><\/noscript><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-18110\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-18110 lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%202048%20780%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" alt=\"Different IOR Values visualized\" width=\"2048\" height=\"780\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%202048%20780%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/Different-IOR-Values-visualized.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/Different-IOR-Values-visualized-300x114.jpg 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/Different-IOR-Values-visualized-1024x390.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/Different-IOR-Values-visualized-768x293.jpg 768w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/Different-IOR-Values-visualized-1536x585.jpg 1536w\" data-src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/Different-IOR-Values-visualized.jpg\"><p id=\"caption-attachment-18110\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image-Credit: <a href=\"https:\/\/documentation.3delightcloud.com\/display\/3DfH\/Glass\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">3delight<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"IOR_List_for_Common_materials\"><\/span>IOR List for Common materials<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n<table id=\"tablepress-154\" class=\"tablepress tablepress-id-154 tablepress-responsive\">\n<thead>\n<tr class=\"row-1 odd\">\n\t<th class=\"column-1\">Material<\/th><th class=\"column-2\">IOR<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody class=\"row-hover\">\n<tr class=\"row-2 even\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Acrylic glass<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">1.490<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-3 odd\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Air<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">1.000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-4 even\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Alcohol, Ethyl (grain)<br>\n<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">1.360<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-5 odd\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Aluminum<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">1.390<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-6 even\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Asphalt<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">1.635<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-7 odd\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Beer<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">1.345<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-8 even\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Bronze<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">1.180<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-9 odd\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Copper<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">1.100<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-10 even\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Crystal<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">2.000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-11 odd\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Diamond<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">2.418<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-12 even\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Emerald<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">1.560<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-13 odd\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Eye, Lens<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">1.410<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-14 even\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Glass<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">1.500<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-15 odd\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Glass, Pyrex<br>\n<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">1.474<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-16 even\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Gold<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">0.470<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-17 odd\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Ice<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">1.309<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-18 even\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Iron<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">2.950<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-19 odd\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Ivory<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">1.540<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-20 even\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Lead<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">2.010<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-21 odd\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Lucite<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">1.495<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-22 even\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Mercury (liquid)<br>\n<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">1.620<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-23 odd\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Milk<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">1.350<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-24 even\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Nickel<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">1.080<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-25 odd\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Nylon<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">1.530<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-26 even\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Pearl<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">1.530<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-27 odd\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Plastic<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">1.460<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-28 even\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Teflon<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">1.350<br>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-29 odd\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Titanium<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">2.160<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-30 even\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Water <\/td><td class=\"column-2\">1.325<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<!-- #tablepress-154 from cache -->\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"FAQ\"><\/span>FAQ<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_Do_You_Calculate_the_Index_of_Refraction_of_a_Given_Material\"><\/span>How Do You Calculate the Index of Refraction of a Given Material?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>There are many ways to find the IOR of a material on your own, depending on what kind of information you have about the material.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/Calculate-the-Refractive-Index-in-Physics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">I suggest you take a look at this well-illustrated article for an easy method of calculating the IOR of a material<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Can_the_Index_of_Refraction_Ever_Be_Less_Than_1\"><\/span>Can the Index of Refraction Ever Be Less Than 1?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Because nothing can go faster than the speed of light in a vacuum, it isn't odd to assume that there couldn't be an IOR less than 1.<\/p>\n<p>Remember, a higher IOR means that the light rays slow down more, meaning that an IOR of less than 1 will have the light rays going faster than in a vacuum.<\/p>\n<p>But there actually <em>can <\/em>be certain instances where the index of refraction is less than 1 in the real world. You can learn more about that <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Refractive_index#Refractive_index_below_unity\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The important point here for 3D artists is that IOR <em>can<\/em> be set to a value lower than 1, but it's not recommended and there isn't much point in it.<\/p>\n<p>It basically flips the light rays into going the opposite direction which gives a weird sort of gem-esque light scattering effect.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_17991\" style=\"width: 1920px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><noscript><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-17991\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-17991\" src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-24.png\" alt=\"A glass cube with an IOR of 0.25\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-24.png 1920w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-24-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-24-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-24-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-24-1536x864.png 1536w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-24-1200x675.png 1200w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-24-825x464.png 825w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-24-594x335.png 594w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-24-420x236.png 420w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\"><\/noscript><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-17991\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-17991 lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%201920%201080%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" alt=\"A glass cube with an IOR of 0.25\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%201920%201080%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-24.png 1920w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-24-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-24-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-24-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-24-1536x864.png 1536w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-24-1200x675.png 1200w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-24-825x464.png 825w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-24-594x335.png 594w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-24-420x236.png 420w\" data-src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-24.png\"><p id=\"caption-attachment-17991\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A glass cube with an IOR of 0.25<\/p><\/div>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_Is_the_Difference_Between_a_Higher_or_Lower_Index_of_Refraction\"><\/span>What Is the Difference Between a Higher or Lower Index of Refraction?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>When a light ray goes from one medium into another medium with a lower IOR, it bends towards the direction of the normal.<\/p>\n<p>If it goes into a medium with a higher IOR, it bends away from the normal.<\/p>\n<p>For practical CG purposes, this means that if you have a low IOR value, your material will be more translucent\u2014up to a point,<\/p>\n<p>If you go below an IOR of 1 it rolls back on itself and becomes similar to if you had a higher IOR value. And if it has a higher IOR value, it'll be more reflective.<\/p>\n\n<table id=\"tablepress-152\" class=\"tablepress tablepress-id-152 tablepress-responsive\">\n<thead>\n<tr class=\"row-1 odd\">\n\t<th class=\"column-1\"> <\/th><th class=\"column-2\"> <\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody class=\"row-hover\">\n<tr class=\"row-2 even\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\"><noscript><img class=\"wp-image-17992\" src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-25.png\"><\/noscript><img class=\"wp-image-17992 lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-25.png\"><\/td><td class=\"column-2\"><noscript><img class=\"wp-image-17993\" src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-26.png\"><\/noscript><img class=\"wp-image-17993 lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-26.png\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-3 odd\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">IOR 0.04 - Notice how the cube reflects the pink Ico Sphere behind it. This is because the light rays have been bent so far back that it now reflects completely instead of going through the object.<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">IOR 1.00 - Notice how the cube is completely invisible. This is because, with an IOR of 1, all light simply goes through the cube without being redirected anywhere.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-4 even\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\"><noscript><img class=\"wp-image-17994\" src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-27.png\"><\/noscript><img class=\"wp-image-17994 lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-27.png\"><\/td><td class=\"column-2\"><noscript><img class=\"wp-image-17995\" src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-28.png\"><\/noscript><img class=\"wp-image-17995 lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2022\/06\/word-image-28.png\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-5 odd\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">IOR 1.45 - Notice how you can both see the turquoise Ico Sphere through the cube and see a slight reflection of the pink Ico Sphere behind the cube as well.<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">IOR 100 - Notice how the cube is completely reflective. This is because, with an IOR above 10~, all light simply reflects off of the cube without being refracted through it.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<!-- #tablepress-152 from cache -->\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_Do_Some_Render_Engines_Have_Many_Different_IOR_Fields_Whereas_Some_Have_Only_One\"><\/span>Why Do Some Render Engines Have Many Different IOR Fields Whereas Some Have Only One?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>It's a matter of how much control you need.<\/p>\n<p>For most purposes, a single IOR value is more than enough to get as realistic a material as you might want.<\/p>\n<p>But, if you really need that fine-tune control, some render engines offer RGB values that you input to really dial in your materials. This can be especially important for certain metallic materials.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Over_to_You\"><\/span>Over to You<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Hopefully, that helped you figure out what IOR is about!<\/p>\n<p>It can be a bit tricky to understand at first, but you don't have to worry about the physics of it all. All you have to understand is that using the real-world IOR values will give you a more photorealistic material if that's the style that you're going for.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Have any other questions about shader creation? Feel free to ask us in the <a href=\"#comments\">comments<\/a> or our <\/em><\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/forum\/\"><strong><em>forum<\/em><\/strong><\/a><strong><em>!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>IOR, or &#8220;Index of Refraction.&#8221; You might've heard these words being thrown around if you've ever looked at a metal or glass shader tutorial. But what is it really? It's hard to find a simple answer to explain what it's all about, so I'll be changing that in this article and explaining what exactly IOR...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2343,"featured_media":17975,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[178],"tags":[123,124],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17974"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2343"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17974"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17974\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18113,"href":"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17974\/revisions\/18113"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17975"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17974"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17974"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17974"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}