The physicist explained the inability to turn back time
Chinese scientists have proposed a new theoretical explanation for one of the oldest mysteries of physics — why time only moves forward and why returning to the past remains impossible. The study shows that the "arrow of time" can occur naturally at the quantum level, without the need to refer to external influences or an observer. This was reported on December 25 by the South China Morning Post (SCMP) newspaper.
Physicist Cai Qingyu and his team from Hainan University in southern China have developed a model that explains why in reality it is impossible to "rewind" processes (for example, to collect a broken egg or become younger), despite the fact that the fundamental equations of physics allow reversibility of time. As the authors note, unlike previous approaches, their theory does not rely on measurements, observations, or outside interference.
The results show that the direction of time can be formed by itself due to how quantum particles become interconnected. This process, according to the researchers, is embedded in the very structure of microscopic physics and does not require additional assumptions.
The authors recall that back at the end of the 19th century, the Austrian physicist Ludwig Boltzmann proposed a classical explanation for the irreversibility of time, linking it with the growth of entropy — the tendency of isolated systems to move from order to disorder. A new work by Chinese scientists develops this idea, offering a quantum basis for understanding why the passage of time has strictly one direction.
On October 8, Science Daily magazine announced the creation of the first working quantum lie detector, the Bell test, developed by physicist John Bell. It was clarified that the device shows whether the quantum computer uses the real effects corresponding to it or imitates them.
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