Visualizing relativistic effects
Ping-Kang Hsiung · 1991
This work addresses visualization of special-relativity effects. In imaging the relativity concepts of length contraction and time dilation, there are additional distortions introduced by the finite light transit time between objects and the camera. We present visualization techniques that account for special-relativity physics and finite light transit time. These techniques synthesize images of high realism that show the combined spatial, temporal, and spectral effects in special-relativity visualization. We also discuss the recovery of spacetime information of an object in relativistic motion from its images. This recovery is the reverse process of image synthesis, and may contribute to the analysis of images in astrophysical studies.