---
title: "Fresnel Dielectric"
url: "https://help.maxon.net/c4d/en-us/Content/html/NET_MAXON_PATTERN_NODE_EFFECT_FRESNELDIELECTRIC.html"
section_path: "The Node Editor > The individual Assets > Material Generator > Fresnel Dielectric"
element_id: "NET_MAXON_PATTERN_NODE_EFFECT_FRESNELDIELECTRIC"
description: "This page covers the Fresnel Dielectric node of the classic node materials in Cinema 4D. It computes the angle-dependent split between reflection and …"
---

# Fresnel Dielectric

> **Note:** **What is it about?**
>
> This page covers the **Fresnel Dielectric node** of the classic node materials in **Cinema 4D**. It computes the angle-dependent split between reflection and refraction on non-metals — the physical basis of glass, water and lacquer looks.

![Image: 042221.jpg](https://help.maxon.net/c4d/en-us/Content/Resources/Images/042221.jpg)\
The Fresnel effect is already part of the BSDF Nodes in order to be able to simulate their reflection behavior for conductive and dielectric materials in a physically correct way. If you want to make other material properties, such as a color change, also dependent on the viewing angle on the surface, you can use the Fresnel Dielectric Node for this, which outputs a simple grayscale gradient.

> **Tip:** Note:
>
> This Node is only available when editing a classic Cinema 4D Node Material.

When light strikes a dielectric surface, some of the light will be refracted onto the object. The remaining part is reflected and will generate a reflection. This behavior, which depends on the viewing angle to the surface, can be described for many materials as a **refractive index number value**. Unlike the **Fresnel Conductor Node**, however, there is no coloring here; instead, only gray values will be output, whose brightness expresses how intense the specular properties are depending on the viewing angle.