Question
As an inexperienced optical designer, I have little idea what degree of smoothing (i.e. what range of waist radii) is generally appropriate to provide the most realistic answers. I'm sure there's no one right answer, but are there any rules of thumb one can use to determine an appropriate level of smoothing?
Synopsis
Smoothing - what degree of smoothing is appropriate?
Solution
"In an ideal world, smoothing would not be needed because our PC could trace huge numbers of rays in a matter of minutes to achieve a realistic result. Having said that, the only " rule of thumb" that I can suggest is that less smoothing is better. A higher Map Count, which corresponds to a smaller waist radius, is more accurate than a lower one. I think of smoothing as a useful tool in the initial setup of a model when you want to trace a small number of rays and see if the model is set up correctly. The smoothed Irradiance Map or Candela Plot is an indication/prediction of how the plot might look when more rays are traced. When it comes to getting the final analysis results, tracing more rays and minimizing or eliminating smoothing is preferred."
