2009

Birth and Death
Birth Operator
Particle View on page 2811 > Click Birth in an event or add a Birth operator to
the particle system and then select it.
The Birth operator enables creation of particles within the Particle Flow system
using a set of simple parameters. In general, use Birth as the first operator in
any event connected directly to a
global event on page 7997; this is called the
birth event on page 7924.
You can specify a total number of particles, or a rate of particles born per
second. You can also tell the system when to begin emitting particles, and
when to stop.
NOTE The Birth operator must always come at the beginning of a particle stream;
the system doesn't let you position it elsewhere. You can place a Birth operator in
an isolated event, but you can't then wire that event in series with a stream that
already uses a Birth operator. However, you can wire multiple Birth operators,
each in its own event, into a particle stream with an existing Birth operator, in
parallel. The following procedure illustrates this. If you need to create particles
midstream, use the Spawn Test on page 2991 or Collision Spawn Test on page 2964
test.
See also:
■ Birth Script Operator on page 2847
Procedures
To use the Birth operator:
This procedure demonstrates the impossibility of using multiple Birth operators
in series, and shows how to use multiple Birth operators in parallel.
1 Start or reset the software, and add a new PF Source object to the scene.
2 Press 6 to open Particle View.
The default particle system contains a Birth operator as the first action
in the birth event.
3 Try to drag the Birth operator elsewhere in Event 01.
2844 | Chapter 14 Space Warps and Particle Systems