Comparison of Two Approaches to Calculate Orthoscopic Interference Pictures

In this article a computer model of the polariscope is regarded as a 3D scene. In this case, the interference pictures are the result of rendering. The light rays pass through several well-specified polariscope blocks. When developing a suitable renderer, algorithms are selected and estimated for calculating the behavior of the beams based on their physical correctness, speed, etc. A plane parallel plate of an anisotropic crystal is the main block of the scene that affects the resulting image. This article discusses the calculation of the interaction of light with this plate only. Two approaches to calculate orthoscopic interference pictures of optically anisotropic transparent crystals are considered. One is described in many well-known books and bases on definite simplifications. The other is a direct physically based modeling of a light ray path through a plane parallel plate made of a uniaxial crystal taking into account all losses of intensity while passing boundaries between media. The purpose of this paper is to estimate a difference between values obtained via different approaches