At a Glance
- Scientists have experimentally confirmed the Terrell-Penrose effect, where fast-moving objects appear rotated rather than contracted, as predicted by relativity over 60 years ago.
- Using ultra-fast lasers and special cameras, the team slowed light to simulate near-light-speed motion, allowing visual observation of the effect in a laboratory setting.
- Objects like a cube and sphere appeared rotated in images due to the delayed arrival of light from different parts, accurately mimicking relativistic visual distortion.
- The experiment bridges science and art, drawing inspiration from earlier artistic explorations of high-speed photography and visual perception.
- This breakthrough offers a new way to visualize and understand Einstein’s relativity, paving the way for more accessible demonstrations of complex physical phenomena.
In 1959, physicists Roger Penrose and James Terrell proposed a surprising effect on how fast-moving objects look when photographed. According to their theory, objects moving close to the speed of light would appear rotated in photos, not contracted as expected. This phenomenon, now known as the Terrell-Penrose effect, had never been observed until now. Researchers at TU Wien and the University of Vienna have successfully demonstrated this effect in a laboratory setting using lasers and high-speed cameras, which has never been done before.
The team used a clever method to simulate the effect of high-speed objects. By using ultra-fast laser pulses and a special camera, they reduced the speed of light in their experiment to just 2 meters per second, a considerable decrease from the normal speed of light, which is nearly 300,000 kilometers per second. This allowed them to recreate the visual effect of an object moving at near-light speed. The researchers used a cube and a sphere to test this method, showing how the objects appeared as though they had rotated when viewed in a series of images.
In normal conditions, when an object moves extremely fast, its length appears shorter because of the Lorentz contraction phenomenon. This is part of Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity, which states that objects moving at speeds close to the speed of light behave differently from those at rest. However, this effect cannot be directly seen in photographs because the light from different parts of the object reaches the camera at different times, making the object appear distorted. By mimicking this scenario in the lab, the researchers could visually recreate what would happen to an object moving at a speed close to that of light.
The research, published in Communications Physics, highlights how a scientific experiment can cross over into artistic realms. An earlier collaboration inspired the team’s work with artist Enar de Dios Rodriguez, who explored similar ideas in ultra-fast photography. The success of this experiment offers a new way of visualizing relativity. It opens the door for further studies on how extremely fast-moving objects behave in the universe, helping to make the complex concepts of Einstein’s theory more tangible.
References
- Vienna University of Technology. (2025, May 5). A snapshot of relativistic motion: Special relativity made visible. Phys.Org; Vienna University of Technology. https://phys.org/news/2025-05-snapshot-relativistic-motion-special-visible.html
- Hornof, D., Helm, V., De Dios Rodriguez, E., Juffmann, T., Haslinger, P., & Schattschneider, P. (2025). A snapshot of relativistic motion: Visualizing the Terrell-Penrose effect. Communications Physics, 8(1), 161. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42005-025-02003-6
