Chimera uses a fragment shader to provide per-pixel lighting (called "glossy lighting" in Chimera). This gives shinier smoother specular highlights on surfaces. The same fragment shader does angle-dependent transparency. This means that a transparent surface at an oblique angle is more opaque than if the surface is face-on. This darkens parts of the surface which are edge-on giving improved 3-d appearance.

Tom

Dear Chimera developers,

I try to have a brief overview of molecular programs that can use programmable capabilities of new graphic hardwares (i.e. use of shaders): So, I would like to know if Chimera program have dedicated code that use such shaders to visualize fastly surfaces or to add particular lighting effects..

Thank you in advance.

Matthieu Chavent.