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Show HN: What if the speed of light was 5 km/h? (rivendell.dmitrybrant.com)

629 points by dmitrybrant · 32 days ago · 290 comments on HN

Article summary

The article presents a simulation called Relativity Park, where the speed of light is reduced to 5 km/h, allowing users to observe relativistic effects such as length contraction, time dilation, and Doppler shifts. The simulation is designed to illustrate the consequences of special relativity in a more accessible way. The author notes that some effects, such as the rendering of blueshifts and redshifts, are approximate. The simulation is open-source and allows users to experiment with different scenarios.

Main themes

  • relativity
  • speed of light
  • simulations
  • science fiction
  • time dilation
  • special relativity
  • fundamental constants
  • optics and photonics

What commenters say

  • Reducing the speed of light to a human-scale value would have significant effects on our daily lives, including noticeable time dilation during routine activities.
  • The concept of traveling through time at the speed of light is misleading, as all objects have the same speed in spacetime, but with different directions.
  • The speed of light is a fundamental constant that cannot be changed, and any attempts to simulate a slower speed of light are purely theoretical.
  • The idea of a slower speed of light has been explored in science fiction, such as in the Three Body Problem trilogy, where advanced civilizations can locally alter the speed of light.
  • The simulation is a useful tool for illustrating relativistic effects, but it is not a realistic representation of the physical world.
  • The speed of light in a medium, such as glass or fiber optics, is different from the universal constant c, and this distinction is important in understanding relativistic effects.
  • The simulation's controls and effects are similar to those of an earlier game, A Slower Speed of Light, which also explored relativistic effects at low speeds.
  • The concept of a slower speed of light raises questions about the nature of time and space, and how they are perceived and measured.