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Life & fun · September 10, 2026

WI

What if the speed of light was 5 km/h?

Special relativity simulator in which light crawls along at a human speed, so Lorentz contraction, aberration and Doppler shift happen at walking pace.

What if the speed of light was 5 km/h? launched on September 10, 2026 with 303 votes, #3 of 5,162 launches that month and more than 99% of that year's launches.

What it does

In this park, the speed of light is 5 kilometers per hour — a brisk walk. Just like in the real world, the speed of light is not attainable, only approachable asymptotically. The more you speed up, the more relativistic effects will become apparent: length contraction, time dilation, Terrell rotation, etc. The Doppler effect of light also becomes apparent, with objects in front of you blueshifted, objects behind you redshifted, and transverse Doppler effects visible on objects in motion. All of the motion effects you see are physically accurate, in a world where the speed of light is greatly reduced, so it can be observed more easily on human scales. Play around with what effect…from rivendell.dmitrybrant.com

Pricing, as stated on its site

Free — No pricing information found on the website. The product appears to be a free interactive simulator with no payment model mentioned.

checked September 2026 · prices change

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