The Science Behind Snow Globe WebGL

What is a Snow Globe?

A traditional snow globe is a sealed container filled with water and tiny particles that represent snow. When shaken, the particles float in the liquid, creating an illusion of snowfall. In digital form, this concept is translated into a 3D scene rendered using modern graphics techniques.

Snow Globe WebGL uses SDF (Signed Distance Field) raymarching to create realistic snowflakes and lighting effects within a virtual glass sphere.

Raymarching and SDF

SDF is a method of rendering 3D objects by calculating the shortest distance from a point in space to the surface of an object. Raymarching involves tracing rays through a scene, checking their proximity to surfaces using SDF values, and coloring them based on this information.

In Snow Globe WebGL, raymarching is used to create realistic snowflakes that move and interact with light, mimicking the behavior of real snow particles.

Physics in Digital Snow Globes

The physics behind a digital snow globe involves simulating the movement of virtual snowflakes under the influence of gravity. Each snowflake is modeled as a particle with its own mass and velocity, which are updated over time to create realistic motion.

Additional forces such as air resistance can also be applied to make the simulation more accurate.

Real-World Applications

While primarily used for entertainment, digital snow globes like Snow Globe WebGL demonstrate the power of modern graphics and physics engines in creating immersive virtual experiences.

These techniques are widely used in video games, simulations, and visual effects for movies.

Frequently asked questions

Try it live

Everything above runs in your browser — open Snow Globe WebGL and change the parameters while it is running. Nothing is installed, nothing is uploaded, the whole model lives in one tab.