Explore Relativity with Interactive Flash Diagrams

[A.T.]

Hello,

for those of you who liked Epsteins book "Relativity Visualized" and
his geometrical interpretation of relativity: I have made two
interactive space-eigentime diagrams in flash to play with:
A basic on showing mainly special relativity:
http://www.adamtoons.de/physics/relativity.swf
A 3D version showing gravitation as curved spacetime (needs flash 9):
http://www.adamtoons.de/physics/gravitation.swf
Comments and suggestions are welcome

Adam

 

[robphy]

Nice visualizations.
It's been a while since I have looked at Epstein's book.

Just a word of warning [for those unfamiliar with spacetime diagrams]... Epstein's vivid diagrams are not the standard Minkowski spacetime diagrams, as seen in more advanced relativity books. While his diagrams are enlightening and may be sufficient for beginners, they are of limited use.

Here's a review via JSTOR
http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0024-094X(1984)17%3A4%3C299%3ARV%3E2.0.CO%3B2-0

Here's related thread on Epstein's diagrams:
https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=151075

 

[mendocino]

Hello,

for those of you who liked Epsteins book "Relativity Visualized" and
his geometrical interpretation of relativity: I have made two
interactive space-eigentime diagrams in flash to play with:
A basic on showing mainly special relativity:
http://www.adamtoons.de/physics/relativity.swf
A 3D version showing gravitation as curved spacetime (needs flash 9):
http://www.adamtoons.de/physics/gravitation.swf
Comments and suggestions are welcome

Adam

Can you tell me why the time coordinate is a closed circle in the interactive space-eigentime diagrams of http://www.adamtoons.de/physics/gravitation.swf

 

[A.T.]

Can you tell me why the time coordinate is a closed circle in the interactive space-eigentime diagrams of http://www.adamtoons.de/physics/gravitation.swf

It isn't. After each cycle you land on a new layer of the diagram. The 3D-view is basically the left 2D-diagram rolled together, so you have 4 layers. The choice of a rotational surface to embed the curved 2D-spacetime in 3D is arbitrary and has no physical meaning.

 

[manulal]

Thank you Adam for the excellent animations.