NAME
lightspeed - Shows how objects moving at speeds near the speed of light
look like.
SYNOPSIS
lightspeed [-hsa] [object]
DESCRIPTION
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.
CONTROLS
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.
OPTIONS
-h, --help
Print this help screen
-s, --simple
Use simplified interface
-a, --advanced
Use advanced interface (default)
object 3D file to load on startup (.3DS or .LWO)
April 2000