| LIGHTSPEED(1) | General Commands Manual | LIGHTSPEED(1) |
lightspeed - Shows how objects moving at speeds near the speed of light look like.
lightspeed [-hsa] [object]
Light Speed! is a simulator which can illustrate the effects of special relativity on the appearance of objects travelling at ultra-high speeds. Depending on the particular speed, and one's point of view, relativistic effects can cause the object to appear shorter, longer, brighter, darker, deformed and/or off-color.
To adjust the velocity, use the slider along the right edge of the main window. You can also type in a value, using the entry at the top right (press <Enter> once it is in). To change the units shown, press the button to the right of the entry, and it will cycle through a small list.
The object travels in the positive-x direction, which can be visually checked by activating Objects -> Coordinate axes.
Most interactive control is performed with the mouse. By holding down a particular button, and dragging the pointer around, various camera motions can be obtained:
Left button: Revolve camera around view target
Left button + Shift key: Revolve view target around camera
Middle button: Translate camera left, right, up or down
Right button: Dolly in or out
The first and last motions are generally the most useful. Should the camera become difficult to control at any point, it may be re-initialized by selecting Camera -> Reset View.
| April 2000 |