Does a point lie inside a polygon
A superficially simple problem in computational geometry is that of determining whether a query point P lies in the interior of a polygon if it lies in the polygon's plane. Answering this question is often required when tracking particles in a Monte Carlo program; it is asked frequently and an efficient algorithm is crucial. Littlefield has recently rediscovered Shimrat's algorithm, while in separate works, Wooff, Preparata and Shamos and Mehlhorn, as well as Yamaguchi, give other algorithms. A practical algorithm answering this question when the polygon's plane is skewed in space is not immediately evident from most of these methods. Additionally, all but one fails when two sides extend to infinity (open polygons). In this paper the author review the above methods and present a new, efficient algorithm, valid for all convex polygons, open or closed, and topologically connected in n-dimensional space (n {ge} 2).
- OSTI ID:
- 5433103
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-881011--
- Journal Information:
- Transactions of the American Nuclear Society; (USA), Journal Name: Transactions of the American Nuclear Society; (USA) Vol. 57; ISSN TANSA; ISSN 0003-018X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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