LIGHTSPEED(1)

📦 version 1.2a.debian.1, in ubuntu jammy

✨ LIGHTSPEED ✨

okay bestie, so there's this little program called lightspeed and honestly? it's giving physics girlie main character energy 💫 it shows you what stuff looks like when it's zooming around at speeds near the speed of light. no cap, it's iconic.

🌈 SYNOPSIS 🌈

lightspeed [-hsa] [object]

that's it. that's the whole vibe. three lil flags and an optional object. slay 💅

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

Light Speed! is a simulator that shows off the effects of special relativity on how objects appear when they're travelling at ultra-high speeds. 🚀✨

and here's the tea, bestie: depending on the particular speed, and on your point of view, those relativistic effects can make the object look:

  • shorter 🍓
  • longer
  • brighter ✨
  • darker 🌙
  • deformed 😭
  • and/or off-color 🌈

like... it's literally being perceived differently. not me getting emotional about spacetime 🙈

🎀 CONTROLS 🎀

so to adjust the velocity, you use the slider along the right edge of the main window. drag it, live your truth. 💖

you can also just type in a value, using the entry at the top right — and then press <Enter> once it's in there, because it's not gonna read your mind, bestie. ✨

want different units? press the button to the right of the entry and it'll cycle through a small list. cute, right? 🎠

okay now important: the object travels in the positive-x direction 📈 and you can visually check that by activating Objects -> Coordinate axes. go look, it's right there, verified, no cap.

most of the interactive control is done with the mouse 🖱️. by holding down a particular button and dragging the pointer around, you get all these different camera motions:

  • 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 🔍

ngl, the first and last motions are generally the most useful — those are the ones you'll actually be living in. 👑

and if the camera ever becomes difficult to control at any point (it happens, it's fine, we've all been there 😭), you can just re-initialize it by selecting Camera -> Reset View. instant glow-up. 🫶

💅 OPTIONS 💅

  • -h, --help — Print this help screen. the classic. the icon. 👑
  • -s, --simple — Use simplified interface. lowkey minimalist era. 🌸
  • -a, --advanced — Use advanced interface (default). highkey the full experience, and yes it's the one you get if you don't say otherwise. ✨
  • object — 3D file to load on startup (.3DS or .LWO). drop your lil model in and let it fly. 🦋
fr fr, the vibes are immaculate but the physics are real. go make something travel at near-light speed and watch it get weird. 🔥

and that's a wrap, bestie 🎀 this page is from the General Commands Manual, dated April 2000 — yeah, she's an elder but she ATE. mwah. 💋

📦 where this page comes from