Physicists Build 24,000-Atom Mini Universe Showing Time Emerges Internally
Updated
Updated · ScienceDaily · Jul 9
Physicists Build 24,000-Atom Mini Universe Showing Time Emerges Internally
2 articles · Updated · ScienceDaily · Jul 9
Summary
A 24,000-atom quantum system built at the University of Birmingham let researchers order events without any external clock, offering controlled experimental evidence that time can arise from a system’s own evolution.
Inside the isolated setup, ultracold atoms moved between “bright” and “dark” regions split by laser beams; changes in their entropy defined an “entropic time” that advanced, slowed or stopped with the redistribution.
The bright region repeatedly expanded and contracted in a Big Bang–Big Crunch-like cycle, yet the internally defined time still preserved a clear arrow of time and correctly sequenced events.
A Schrödinger equation reformulated in entropic time still described the system’s evolution, suggesting quantum dynamics can be tracked even when no built-in clock exists.
Published in Physical Review Research, the work gives physicists a lab platform to probe quantum gravity and quantum cosmology ideas, with possible extensions to simulated black holes and early-universe scenarios.
A lab-made universe creates its own time. What cosmic secrets from the Big Bang can it now unlock?
If time can be stopped in a lab, is our own perception of its constant flow simply a grand illusion?
Time Emerges from Within: Barontini’s 2026 Quantum Mini-Universe Experiment Redefines Temporal Physics
Overview
In June 2026, physicist Giovanni Barontini and his team made a groundbreaking announcement by creating a 'mini-universe' using ultracold atoms. Their experiment tackled the long-standing 'problem of time' in physics by showing that time can emerge from within a quantum system itself, without needing any external clock. By observing the internal relationships and changes among the atoms, they demonstrated that the standard equations of quantum physics still hold true. This marks the first controlled laboratory evidence that time can originate internally, offering new insights into the fundamental nature of time and opening exciting possibilities for future research.