The physicist demonstrated the theory of time on the created mini-universe
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- The physicist demonstrated the theory of time on the created mini-universe
Time seems to be one of the most obvious things in the universe: it moves forward, seconds change minutes, and the past cannot be returned. However, modern physics has long shown that everything is much more complicated. Time is not the same for all observers — it can slow down due to strong gravity or high speed of movement. Now, scientists have been able to create a small quantum system in the laboratory that mimics some properties of the universe and allows them to study how the passage of time changes depending on the state of the surrounding world. The experiment does not mean that humanity has learned how to control time, but it gives physicists a new way to explore one of the most mysterious features of reality. About why time can go faster, slower and even almost disappear in mathematical models — in the material of Izvestia.
An experiment that made time "move" in different ways
The reason for a new discussion of the nature of time was the experiment of physicist Giovanni Barontini, who created a small quantum system in the laboratory — a kind of "mini-universe" where processes resembling the behavior of the real world can be observed. The researcher used the quantum model to study one of the most complex ideas of modern physics: time is not always an independent background on which events occur, but may be related to the state of the system itself.
In ordinary life, a person perceives time as a universal quantity: it seems that one second should be the same for all people in the universe. However, back in the early 20th century, Albert Einstein's theory of relativity showed that this was not the case. Space and time are interconnected and form a single structure — space-time, and its properties depend on the movement of objects and the distribution of mass in the universe.
In the new experiment, the scientists did not literally try to "stop the clock." Instead, they created a physical system where one can observe how the mathematical description of time changes within a quantum process. Such models allow researchers to study situations that cannot be reproduced on the scale of the universe: for example, what happens to the concept of time when it becomes part of the quantum system itself.
Giovanni Barontini, an experimental physicist from the University of Birmingham in the UK
When you put it all together, everything really starts to make sense. The way time inside the system accelerated, slowed down, or even stopped—it was quite amazing how well everything matched up. In a way, it's very neat. And this is something that doesn't happen very often in experiments.
The idea that time can behave strangely appeared long before this experiment. Within the framework of Einstein's general theory of relativity, scientists have proved that the stronger gravity, the slower time passes relative to an observer located far from the source of gravity. This effect is called gravitational time dilation. It is so real that it has to be taken into account even in everyday technologies, such as satellite navigation systems.
However, the new experiment is not so much related to the classical theory of relativity, but rather to an attempt to combine two fundamental fields of physics — quantum mechanics and the theory of gravity. Today, scientists still do not have a full-fledged theory of quantum gravity that would explain the behavior of the universe simultaneously on the largest and smallest scales. That is why physicists create laboratory models to test individual ideas about the nature of space and time.
Why can time go in different ways at all?
To understand the significance of such experiments, it is necessary to abandon the usual idea of time as an unchanging "flow". In classical physics, which was developed by Isaac Newton, time was considered absolute: it existed independently of events and was the same for all observers. But the theory of relativity has completely changed this view. Einstein showed that time is part of the unified structure of space-time and can change depending on conditions.
One of the most famous examples is moving at high speed. According to the special theory of relativity, an object that moves close to the speed of light experiences time dilation relative to a stationary observer. For the traveler himself, time will pass as usual, but after returning, he will find that more time has passed on Earth. This effect is called time dilation during movement and has been confirmed by numerous experiments.
Another factor is gravity. The more massive an object is, the more it bends the space-time around it. Therefore, time will go much slower for an external observer near a black hole than far from it. This effect is often used in science fiction, but it is based on real physical calculations.
In everyday life, these effects are almost invisible, because the speed of movement of people and the force of Earth's gravity are too small. But modern technologies already take into account the relativity of time. For example, GPS satellites are located above the surface of the Earth and move at high speed, so their clocks go a little differently than the clocks on the planet. Without correcting for these differences, the navigation system would quickly start making errors.
The new laboratory experiment is interesting precisely because it shifts the conversation about time from the scale of space to a controlled environment. Scientists have the opportunity to study not only how time changes due to motion or gravity, but also how the very concept of time can be related to quantum processes. And this brings physicists closer to one of the main questions of modern science: is time a fundamental part of the universe or does it arise from deeper laws of nature.
How scientists create "mini-universes" in laboratories
To study such complex phenomena as the nature of time, physicists are increasingly using small models of the universe rather than trying to observe it directly. In laboratories, scientists work with quantum systems that can reproduce individual properties of larger physical processes. It's like creating a scaled-down model of an airplane in a wind tunnel: researchers don't build a real car, but they get the opportunity to test the laws that govern its behavior.
In the new experiment, the scientists used the principles of quantum simulation, a branch of physics that allows them to create controlled systems from atoms, ions or other quantum objects and observe their behavior. Such installations are called "quantum simulators": They do not copy the entire universe, but they help to verify individual mathematical models that cannot be directly investigated.
Giovanni Barontini that he came up with an experiment while watching his son play with construction kits
I thought it was very similar to what we do in our labs. We play with very expensive toys. We create our own small samples of reality.
The peculiarity of the quantum world is that the usual ideas about causality, the state of objects and measurement work differently there. Particles can be in states that cannot be described by ordinary household logic, and observing the system itself becomes part of the process. That is why quantum experiments allow scientists to ask questions that previously remained purely theoretical: for example, whether time may not be an independent element of reality, but a consequence of the interaction between different parts of the system.
Such research is especially important for one of the most difficult problems of modern physics — the search for a connection between quantum mechanics and gravity. Today, scientists have two extremely successful but poorly compatible theories. General relativity perfectly describes the motion of planets, stars, and black holes, while quantum mechanics explains the behavior of atoms and elementary particles. However, it has not yet been possible to combine them into a single system.
That is why laboratory "mini-universes" have become one of the tools of modern physics. They allow us to test ideas related to the fundamental laws of nature, without having to wait for rare cosmic events. For example, it is impossible to create a black hole for an experiment or to approach the conditions of the first moments after the Big Bang, but scientists can simulate individual processes that help to understand their structure.
What the new experiment says about the nature of time
The main conclusion of such studies is that time may not be as fundamental and unambiguous a concept as it seems to a person in everyday life. In physics, there have long been ideas according to which the feeling of a single flow of time can be associated with deeper processes, such as changes in the state of systems and an increase in entropy.
One of the key concepts here is the "arrow of time". In fundamental physical equations, many processes look reversible: mathematically, they can occur both forward and backward. However, in the real world, a person sees only one direction of time — we age, a broken glass does not collect back, and smoke does not return to a cigarette. Scientists associate this with entropy, a measure of disorder in a system.
Giovanni Barontini
Both time and the arrow of time — perhaps they are just born out of ignorance. To have time and observe, you need to give up some degree of freedom.
Experiments with quantum systems help us study how microscopic processes give rise to our familiar sense of time. Perhaps time does not exist as a separate "river" flowing through the universe, but appears from the interaction of many elements. Similar ideas are being discussed in various fields of theoretical physics, including research on quantum gravity.
However, the new experiment does not mean that scientists have learned how to speed up or stop time in the real world. We are talking about modeling: physicists change the parameters of a small system and observe how the mathematical description of the processes is changing. This is an important step for understanding the fundamental laws of nature, but not time management technology.
Today, scientists study time not only as a unit of measurement, but also as one of the deepest properties of the universe. New experiments are helping to get closer to the answer to a question that has remained open for several centuries: why time exists at all and why it moves in exactly one direction. Perhaps in the future, studies of quantum "mini-universes" will allow us to create a more complete picture of reality — from the smallest particles to the structure of the entire cosmos.
And although physicists have not yet been able to stop time or turn it back, they have done something equally important: they have learned how to turn the very idea of time into an experimental object. What was once considered the unchanging backdrop for all events has now become one of the main mysteries of science. And each "mini-universe" created in the laboratory brings researchers closer to understanding how reality works at the deepest level.
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