Special relativity, animation
Animation demonstrating Einstein's theory of relativity. The first scene shows two frames of reference. A person is standing still on a patch of grass while observing another person on a trolley moving horizontally at 40 percent of the speed of light. As the trolley passes the centre of the screen, a lightning strike occurs, producing a circular light beam that moves outwards. From both the stationary and moving observer's reference frame, they are in the centre of the light circle. The next scene adds four light detectors, one on each side of both observers. Each time a beam of light passes through the detector, it produces a visible change from black to red. From the stationary observer's reference frame, he sees the light circle contact both his detectors at the same time and the moving detectors at different times. However, from the moving observer's reference frame, he sees the light circle contact both his detectors at the same time and the stationary detectors at different times. Thus, the animation demonstrates that events that are simultaneous in one reference frame may not be simultaneous in another, a key principle of special relativity.