Visualizing queries and querying visualizations
ACM SIGMOD Record
CHI '95 Conference Companion on Human Factors in Computing Systems
The invisible computer
VVS '00 Proceedings of the 2000 IEEE symposium on Volume visualization
Real-world relativity: image-based special relativistic visualization
Proceedings of the conference on Visualization '00
Four-dimensional non-linear ray tracing as a visualization tool for gravitational physics
Proceedings of the conference on Visualization '00
Interactive rendering of atmospheric scattering effects using graphics hardware
Proceedings of the ACM SIGGRAPH/EUROGRAPHICS conference on Graphics hardware
Loose, Artistic "Textures" for Visualization
IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications
Real-Time Rendering in Curved Spaces
IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications
Perceptually based brush strokes for nonphotorealistic visualization
ACM Transactions on Graphics (TOG)
Top Scientific Visualization Research Problems
IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications
Constrained Inverse Volume Rendering for Planetary Nebulae
VIS '04 Proceedings of the conference on Visualization '04
Analysis of tag within online social networks
Proceedings of the ACM 2009 international conference on Supporting group work
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This paper describes methods for explanatory and illustrative visualizations used to communicate aspects of Einstein's theories of special and general relativity, their geometric structure, and of the related fields of cosmology and astrophysics. Our illustrations target a general audience of laypersons interested in relativity. We discuss visualization strategies, motivated by physics education and the didactics of mathematics, and describe what kind of visualization methods have proven to be useful for different types of media, such as still images in popular science magazines, film contributions to TV shows, oral presentations, or interactive museum installations. Our primary approach is to adopt an egocentric point of view: The recipients of a visualization participate in a visually enriched thought experiment that allows them to experience or explore a relativistic scenario. In addition, we often combine egocentric visualizations with more abstract illustrations based on an outside view in order to provide several presentations of the same phenomenon. Although our visualization tools often build upon existing methods and implementations, the underlying techniques have been improved by several novel technical contributions like image-based special relativistic rendering on GPUs, special relativistic 4D ray tracing for accelerating scene objects, an extension of general relativistic ray tracing to manifolds described by multiple charts, GPU-based interactive visualization of gravitational light deflection, as well as planetary terrain rendering. The usefulness and effectiveness of our visualizations are demonstrated by reporting on experiences with, and feedback from, recipients of visualizations and collaborators.