All articles tagged with #time
Physicists built a 24,000-atom isolated quantum system that behaves like a tiny universe, showing time can emerge from internal entropy changes rather than an external clock—the enigmatic "entropic time"—and maintain standard quantum dynamics, offering a controlled testbed for quantum cosmology and gravity research.
A University of Birmingham team used a Bose‑Einstein condensate split into two halves to emulate a universe with no external clock. By letting entropy flow between the halves, they defined an internal clock—entropic time—that ordered events in the bright sector and could run faster, slower, or stop altogether as entropy exchange varied. The researchers also derived a Schrödinger equation using this internal time, supporting the idea that time and its arrow may emerge from internal relations and observer ignorance rather than an external time parameter.
New theoretical ideas suggest time may emerge from gravity via Shape Dynamics, while open quantum systems could host two arrows of time; other approaches explore time as potentially emergent or even illusory, with concepts like tachyons and quantum entanglement hinting at multi-dimensional or timeless frameworks.
Physicist Giovanni Barontini built a lab-sized ‘mini-universe’ by cooling ~24,000 rubidium atoms into a Bose-Einstein condensate and trapping them in a two-region optical setup. The atoms’ movement between a bright (observed) and a dark (unobserved) sector creates entropy exchange that defines an internal, emergent time—time that flows due to entropy rather than an external clock—offering experimental insight into time in quantum gravity and cyclic cosmology.
A University of Birmingham team built a sealed quantum system of 24,000 ultracold rubidium atoms that mimics a tiny expanding/contracting universe and found that the flow of time can arise from internal entropy changes rather than an external clock. The experiment demonstrates entropic time, provides experimental support for time as a derived property in some quantum gravity theories, and shows the Schrödinger equation can be expressed with entropic time, offering a new laboratory testbed for quantum cosmology and gravity ideas.
Insiders say Trump’s push to make daylight saving time permanent has become a top White House priority, with him arguing longer evening daylight would benefit voters; but the plan faces intra-party resistance and broader legislative headwinds as related bills on Ukraine, Iran, and other initiatives stall in Congress.
Physicists modeling collapsing neutron stars find that, under extreme gravity, entropy could decrease in their equations, effectively implying time might run backward in that context—a mathematical insight into the arrow of time rather than a real, observable reversal.
Physicists propose using ultra-precise atomic clocks and trapped ions to test whether time can behave as a quantum object, potentially existing in multiple states at once. By cooling ions, controlling quantum states, and exploring squeezed vacuum states, the work aims to reveal quantum signatures of time and explore how relativity and quantum mechanics describe the flow of time.
Physicists show that spontaneous quantum-collapse models, possibly tied to gravity, would make time itself intrinsically uncertain, setting a fundamental limit on clock precision. The predicted effect is far too small to affect current technology, but it offers a testable path toward unifying quantum mechanics with gravity.
A team studying quantum-collapse models (Diósi–Penrose and Continuous Spontaneous Localization) linked to gravity finds that time itself may have a minute intrinsic uncertainty, implying a fundamental limit on how precisely time can be measured. The effect is unimaginably small and would not affect current timekeeping, but it suggests deep connections between quantum mechanics and gravity and offers a way to experimentally distinguish collapse models from standard quantum theory.
New research reexamines the Boltzmann brain paradox, arguing that our memories and the arrow of time arise from assumptions about the past; the team offers a framework that separates physical laws from interpretive choices to better assess whether memories reflect a real history.
A writer interviews about ten people on what they would do with a completely free day and finds that seven become panicked, exposing a productivity-driven culture in which self-worth is tied to output. The piece argues we outsource desires to algorithms and planners, and it advocates small steps—like practicing unstructured time or simple, mindful activities—to reconnect with personal joys outside external validation.
New research argues Einstein–Rosen bridges are not spatial shortcuts but two-directional structures in time, acting as complementary halves of a quantum state with forward and backward arrows of time. This framework preserves information across horizons, offering a natural resolution to the black hole information paradox without new physics and suggesting the Big Bang could be a quantum bounce between time-reversed phases. While it does not imply traversable wormholes, the idea points to a deeper quantum gravity picture and potential observational hints such as remnants in the cosmic microwave background or relic black holes.
TIME, citing two senior Health Ministry officials and hospital data, reports that up to about 30,304 people may have been killed during Iran’s January 8–9 crackdown on protests, a figure far higher than official tallies and possibly excluding military hospitals or hard‑to‑reach areas. The report describes overwhelmed morgues, the use of eighteen‑wheeled trailers to move bodies, rooftop snipers, and a near‑total internet shutdown that obscured reporting. The numbers are unverified, and experts caution against over‑extrapolating from hospital data, but international bodies have begun independent investigations into the crackdown.
Zadie Smith, in her new collection of essays 'Dead and Alive,' reflects on aging, the swift passage of time, generational differences, and her personal experiences with melancholy and vulnerability at age 50, emphasizing the importance of care and understanding across ages.