Virtual Relativity

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University of Stuttgart

	Institute for Visualization and Interactive Systems
	Virtual Relativity

Virtual Relativity

Welcome to Virtual Relativity

"Virtual Relativity" has been developed as part of the project D4 within the Sonderforschungsbereich 382. The project is in cooperation with Prof. Dr. Hanns Ruder, Theoretical Astrophysics and Computational Physics at the University of Tübingen and with RUS (Computing Center at the University of Stuttgart).

Theoretical Background

The appereance of fast moving objects can be calculated according to the Theory of Special Relativity. In addition to the Lorentz contraction the effects of finite light speed and aberration play an important role. There already exist systems with relativistic ray tracing and polygon rendering.

"Virtual Relativity" has implemented following improvements:

Transformation and rendering in real-time
User interactive environment

For a more detailed presentation see the Vismath 97 paper[1] and WSCG 2000 paper[2].

Software

A beta version of "Virtual Relativity" is available for Silicon Graphics, Windows 9x, and Windows NT workstations. Implementation for Linux will follow. This software is freeware, but copyrighted.

Copyright Note

Permission to use, copy, modify, distribute, and sell this software and its documentation for any purpose is hereby granted without fee, provided that the above copyright notice appear in all copies and that both that copyright notice and this permission notice appear in supporting documentation. I make no representations about the suitability of this software for any purpose. It is provided "as is" without express or implied warranty.

I disclaim all warranties with regard to this software, including all implied warranties of merchantability and fitness, in no event shall I be liable for any special, indirect or consequential damages or any damages whatsoever resulting from loss of use, data or profits, whether in an action of contract, negligence or other tortious action, arising out of or in connection with the use or performance of this software.

Download

An improved version of Virtual Relativity has been released with native Windows 9x and Windows NT support. If you use a Windows system, you should download this

Native Version for Windows 9x and Windows NT: 2.2 Mb, with accompanying README file. Unfortunately, the install program is still in German. However, if you accept all the default buttons during the install procedure, everything should turn out fine.

Please read the README file before download the following Tcl/Tk and Togl-based versions of Virtual Relativity:

Tcl/Tk Version for Windows 9x and Windows NT (depreciated): 3.4 Mb
Silicon Graphics (IRIX 6.x): 2.8 Mb

References

[1] R. Rau, D. Weiskopf, H. Ruder: Special Relativity in Virtual Reality, Mathematical Visualization, H.-C. Hege, K. Polthier (eds.), Springer 1998, 269-279.

[2] D. Weiskopf: An Immersive Virtual Environment for Special Relativity, WSCG Conference Proceedings, V. Skala (ed.), University of West Bohemia, Pilsen, February 2000, 337-344.