A rapidly growing computer graphics community has contributed to dramatic increase in complexity with respect to geometry as well as physical phenomena. Simulating, approximating and visualizing geometry consisting of tens of millions of polygons simultaneously tested for collision or visibility is becoming increasingly common. Further, recent technological innovations from graphics card vendors has fueled impetus towards achieving these phenomena at interactive and real-time rates. Despite tremendeous developments in graphics hardware, capturing the complete surrounding environment poses a significant challenge. Given the added constraint of achieving this at real-time or interactive rates, simplified representations and suitable approximations of physical effects are of key importance.