Event Horizon
Real-time General Relativity, one photon at a time.
What it does
Event Horizon is a real-time black hole visualization engine that demonstrates how light behaves in the extreme gravitational environment predicted by Einstein's General Theory of Relativity. Instead of relying on simple shader-based visual effects, the simulation numerically traces photon trajectories through curved spacetime using GPU-accelerated computation with Taichi.
The renderer models Schwarzschild and Kerr black holes, gravitational lensing, event horizons, photon spheres, relativistic redshift, Doppler beaming, and an emissive accretion disk. Photon paths are integrated using an adaptive Dormand–Prince (RK45) numerical solver to achieve a balance between physical accuracy and real-time performance. The application also features an interactive scientific interface that allows users to adjust simulation parameters and explore the effects of changing black hole properties.
Built entirely in Python with Taichi GPU acceleration, Event Horizon combines computational physics, numerical methods, and scientific visualization into an interactive educational tool. The project demonstrates how complex concepts from General Relativity can be explored in real time on consumer hardware while maintaining an engaging and intuitive user experience.