Physics

Theory of special relativity

Visualizing Albert Einstein's Theory of Special Relativity is a fascinating and difficult challenge, since Relativity is far from everyday's experience. Motivated by UNESCO's "World Year of Physics" 2005 we have realized a project devoted to explain Special Relativity in about 5 minutes, based on a short video embedded into an interactive multimedia presentation. The multimedia has been subdivided into eleven consecutive parts - each one corresponding to specific segments of its scientific structure - accompanied by in-depth texts that contain questions and answers explicitly referring to the specific topics covered in each single segment. This multimedia has participated in the ``Relativity Challenge'' of the ``Pirelli INTERNETional Award'' and it was selected in the 10\% best works from about 300 coming from all over the World. The video is based on integrated 2D- and 3D-graphics accompanied by a number of special effects. Its scientific structure follows a path explicitly intended to let the audience grasp why Special Relativity has changed our way of understanding Physics and why the Theory had to be finally encompassed by General Relativity in 1916. The three main characters are: a computer interface (that soon transforms into an avatar with the 3D-virtualized aspect of Albert Einstein), to whom a couple of youngsters (a girl and a boy) ask a number of scientific questions.  
 
Contact details
 

Name Mauro Francaviglia Email mauro.francaviglia@unito.it

 
 
Last update: 17 July 2007