Time may be an illusion derived from quantum entanglement
A new theoretical model proposes that time may not be a fundamental property of reality but an emergent phenomenon arising from quantum entanglement. The idea suggests that time emerges from the correlations between entangled particles, potentially resolving longstanding paradoxes in physics by reframing time as an illusion rather than a fundamental dimension.
Background
- The article discusses a new theoretical physics paper suggesting that time emerges from quantum entanglement, rather than being a fundamental property of the universe. This is part of a long-standing debate in physics about whether time is real or an illusion.
- Key players: Alessandro Coppo and colleagues (the researchers); the "Page-Wootters mechanism" (a 1983 proposal that time arises from entanglement between a clock system and the rest of the universe).
- Why it matters: If time is emergent rather than fundamental, it would reconcile quantum mechanics (which treats time as a fixed background parameter) with general relativity (where time is flexible and linked to gravity). This could help toward a theory of quantum gravity.
- Prior context: Physicists have long struggled to unify quantum mechanics and general relativity. The "problem of time" in quantum gravity asks why time flows if the fundamental equations treat it symmetrically. This paper extends an existing idea (Page-Wootters) by applying it to real, physical clocks that can be entangled, not just idealized ones.