Visualizing Special Relativity

Presenter: Christopher Sellite

Presenter Status: Undergraduate student

Department: Physics & Astronomy

Screenshot URL: https://drive.google.com/uc?id=12G05ZGvI09V5hyqoxICUQf3uENCZBS7w

Abstract:
Special Relativity is a topic that connects space and time together. Einstein stated that there is a cosmic speed limit which is the speed of light. Einstein's theory changes our understanding of everyday concepts like time and length, My project aims to use the game development environment Unreal Engine to help students visualize what moving at speeds comparable to the speed of light would actually look like. In the game, one would be able to see the time change depending on different speeds available to the character. In addition, the player would also see how the length of different objects change. Lastly, the player would be able to experience the Relativistic Doppler effect. This effect changes the way you would see color because of what happens to light waves at high speed. Giving students a special relativity environment to explore and play around with will make this difficult topic easier to tackle and understand.