Study Revives 1983 Theory That Time Emerges From Quantum Entanglement
Updated
Updated · The Brighter Side of News · Jun 27
Study Revives 1983 Theory That Time Emerges From Quantum Entanglement
3 articles · Updated · The Brighter Side of News · Jun 27
Summary
A new Physical Review A paper argues time is not fundamental but arises when one entangled quantum system acts as a clock for another.
Using a two-system model—a harmonic oscillator and a magnetic spin clock—the authors showed the oscillator’s apparent evolution can reproduce the Schrödinger equation without an external time variable.
The result held only under limits: a finite quantum clock could track only part of the system, while a sufficiently large, near-classical clock made ordinary time emerge more naturally.
Pushing both clock and system toward classical behavior also recovered standard Hamiltonian motion, linking the proposal to familiar classical physics.
The work targets the long-running clash between quantum mechanics and general relativity over time, though outside experts said direct experimental tests remain out of reach.
Could quantum computers one day prove time is emergent by simulating a universe that has no clock?
Is time a product of quantum entanglement, or does entanglement itself unfold along a more fundamental, hidden timeline?
If the universe is fundamentally timeless, is our experience of past and future merely a quantum illusion?
From Entanglement to Time: Experimental Breakthroughs and the Future of Quantum Gravity
Overview
Recent scientific investigations suggest that time may not be a fundamental part of the universe, but instead emerges from quantum entanglement. This means what we experience as the flow of time could be an illusion, created by the complex connections between quantum particles. New calculations and experiments, such as those led by Professor Giovanni Barontini, provide strong evidence for this idea. In these experiments, time is shown to arise from changes within a system itself, rather than from an external clock. These findings open new ways to explore the true nature of time and its connection to quantum physics.