LIGHTSPEED(1)						      General Commands Manual						     LIGHTSPEED(1)

NAME

       lightspeed - Shows how objects moving at speeds near the speed of light look like.

SYNOPSIS

       lightspeed [-hsa] [object]

DESCRIPTION

       Light  Speed!  is  a simulator which can illustrate the effects of special relativity on the appearance of objects travelling at ultra-high
       speeds. Depending on the particular speed, and one's point of view, relativistic effects can cause the object to  appear  shorter,  longer,
       brighter, darker, deformed and/or off-color.

CONTROLS

       To  adjust  the	velocity, use the slider along the right edge of the main window. You can also type in a value, using the entry at the top
       right (press <Enter> once it is in). To change the units shown, press the button to the right of the entry, and it  will  cycle	through  a
       small list.

       The object travels in the positive-x direction, which can be visually checked by activating Objects -> Coordinate axes.

       Most  interactive control is performed with the mouse. By holding down a particular button, and dragging the pointer around, various camera
       motions can be obtained:

	  Left button:	Revolve camera around view target

	  Left button + Shift key:  Revolve view target around camera

	  Middle button:  Translate camera left, right, up or down

	  Right button:  Dolly in or out

       The first and last motions are generally the most useful.  Should the camera become difficult to control at any point, it  may  be  re-ini-
       tialized by selecting Camera -> Reset View.

OPTIONS

       -h, --help
	      Print this help screen

       -s, --simple
	      Use simplified interface

       -a, --advanced
	      Use advanced interface (default)

       object 3D file to load on startup (.3DS or .LWO)

								    April 2000							     LIGHTSPEED(1)