Communications Physics
Physicists from the University of Vienna have for the first time reproduced the optical illusion known as the Terrell-Penrose effect, for objects moving at a speed close to the speed of light.
One of the predictions of Albert Einstein’s special theory of relativity was Lorentzian abbreviation, which meant that an object moving at speed, close to the light will become shorter than its own length at rest, and time will slow down for it. However, in 1959, physicists James Terrell and Roger Penrose independently predicted that an object with a near-light speed would not appear compressed but slightly rotated due to an optical effect that had been reproduced only in simulations.
This is the first time Austrian physicists have been able to reproduce this optical illusion. It is worth noting that the object itself does not physically deform or change shape. The illusion arises because light from different ends of the object travels different distances to the observer. For reproduction. To study the Terrell-Penrose effect, physicists used a stationary cube printed on a 3D printer and a similar sphere, which were illuminated by laser pulses. Using an ultra-fast camera and laser pulses, the scientists simulated a decrease in the speed of light to 2 meters per second.
The pulses were released sequentially, and the delay time varied. The layouts were moved between exposures by a small distance — the distance that the object would have traveled during the time between pulses if it were moving at a speed close to the speed of light. The reflected light from different parts of the cube and sphere was recorded with a camera, gradually reproducing one-step perception of a moving object.
«We moved a cube and a sphere around the lab and used a high-speed camera to record laser flashes reflected from different points on these objects at different times. If you calculate the time correctly, you can create a situation that will give the same results as if the speed of light did not exceed 2 meters per second», — explains Professor Peter Schatschneider from the University of Vienna.
The experiment resulted in a series of photos and animations that simulate the perception of an object moving at a speed close to light. They were combined into a single frame, which corresponds to a single moment in time for the observer.
This experiment is the first case of physical modeling of the effects that occur when an object moves at speed, close to the light. This makes it possible to visualize other unusual effects that have so far been confirmed either purely theoretically or in simulations.
The results of the study are published in the journal Communications Physics
Source: SkiTechDaily