Movies Demonstrating Special Relativity

• Choose a Topic:
  • Measuring the Speed Through the Ether

    This shows how one could determine one's velocity relative to a medium through which waves travel.

  • Simultaneity

    This demonstrates that two events, simultaneous as observed from one inertial frame of reference are not simultaneous when observed from another inertial frame.

  • Time Dilation

    This demonstrates that "moving clocks" advance more slowly than stationary clocks.

  • Measuring the Speed of Light (Galilean Relativity)

    This shows that in Galilean relativity, two observers moving relative to each other will measure different values for the speed of light.

  • Everyone Measures the Same Speed of Light in Special Relativity

    This demonstrates how two observers moving relative to each other measure the same speed of light.

  • Moving Clocks

    This demonstrates how each of two observers, moving relative to each other, sees the other observer's clocks as running slow.

  • Points in Euclidean space view from Unprimed and Primed (rotated) Frame

    This demonstrates how the coordinates of a set of points in the x-y plane depend on the coordinate system from which they are viewed.

  • Space-Time Diagrams of Events in Primed and Unprimed Frames Showing Grid

    This demonstrates how the coordinates of a set of events in space-time depend on the inertial frame (coordinate system) from which they are viewed.

  • Space-Time Diagrams of Events in Primed and Unprimed Frames (no grid)

    This is the same as the previous item, but no grid lines are shown.

• Return to Animation Studies