Here are some examples of cool things you can do with ray tracing. Under each picture is the technique used to produce the image. You can click on each thumbnail to display it full size in the browser window. Enjoy!
Improved BRDF - Metal Shading
Improved BRDF - Anisotropic Reflection
Texture and Bump Mapping
Solid Textures
Distribution Ray Tracing - Gloss
Distribution Ray Tracing - Depth of Field
Distribution Ray Tracing - Soft Shadows
DistributionRay Tracing - Motion Blur
Caustics