Time dilation visualization in relativity
Ping-Kang Hsiung, Robert H. Thibadeau, Christopher B. Cox, Robert H. P. Dunn · Conference on High Performance Computing (Supercomputing) · 1990
This work extends our previous effort in visualizing the spatial aspect of relativistic effects, and treats the phenomenon of time dilation; an inherent temporal effect of special relativity.Here, we demonstrate through still-frame images and live animations that in observing the viewing independent time dilation, the finite light transit time involved in performing the observation makes the observed time dilation also depend on the viewing condition.As we introduce the physics of special relativity into ray-tracing and make time to pass as a ray travels through space, we are able to link the spatial and temporal dimensions in a fundamental and consistent way in our simulations, and generate images that reveal the spatial and temporal properties of the 4D geometry of spacetime.Our exploration highlights the interplay of the imaging process and the imaged physical events in producing the final images. It reveals a richly detailed physical reality which the mathematical language of thought experiment in relatively does not directly provide.