Approximating spheres and sphere patches Original Research Article

Many graphics applications require the rendering of visually pleasing approximations of spheres and sphere patches. An example is the graphical display of molecular surfaces typically defined by a large number of atoms modeled by overlapping spherical balls. This paper presents algorithms to construct piecewise linear approximations of spheres and sphere patches. They will be useful in computing correct surface triangulation, with good quality approximation, of the boundary of the union of a set of balls.