What if the time was nothing more than an illusion? – TabascoHOY.com

Nuremberg, Germany

 How far it is used to divide the time? Or, put another way, what is the smallest unit of time that allows nature? The answer has profound implications for both science to philosophy, and an international team of researchers has shown that the smallest unit of time possible goes far beyond what was thought. The work was recently published in The European Physical Journal.

 

 But look. Although at first glance may seem possible to divide time into smaller and smaller intervals, even to infinity, physics tells us that it is not so, and that the time interval less physically representative as possible is called Planck time, which equals to 10-43 seconds, that is, to one ten septillionth of a second. This, then, in shorter time interval in which the laws of physics can still be used to study the nature of the universe. The limit means that any two events can not be separated by a time interval less than this.

 

 Or at least this is what was thought until now. But Mir Faizal, from the Universities of Waterloo and Lethbridge in Canada, Mohammed M. Khali, University of Alexandria in Egypt and Saurya Das, also of the University of Lethbridge, proposing, in effect, that the least possible time interval could overcome even by several orders of magnitude, while Planck. In addition, physicists have shown that the mere existence of this new “minimum” can alter the basic equations of quantum mechanics. And since quantum mechanics describes (the subatomic particles) physical on a very small scale systems, the result would be a profound change in the description of reality as we know it.

 

 “It could be Faizal- explains that the minimum possible time scale in the universe goes far beyond the Planck time. And it also can be tested experimentally.”

 

 But back, for now, the Planck time, which in itself is so short that no one in any laboratory in the world, has gotten even consider it directly. And in science, and in the basic sciences, the practice is always far behind the theory. The most accurate measurements, have indeed achieved results only at intervals of about 10-17 seconds, far from the Planck time 10-43, and make progress one level of magnitude may pose more decades of effort, research and technological development.

 

 However, theoretically nothing prevents the Planck time considered as something very real, a magnitude that works very well in various fields of study, such as quantum gravity or string theory. It turns out that all these theories suggest that it is not possible to measure a length less than the Planck length, and by extension a time shorter than the Planck time. The Planck time is defined as the time it takes a photon in a vacuum, to travel the Planck length at the speed of light.

 

 The structure of time

 Motivated by a number of recent theoretical studies, the researchers decided to dig deeper into the question of the structure of time, particularly in the long-debated question of whether time is “quiet” or “continuous”. The difference between the two possibilities is enormous. If time were “discreet” it means that would result in a succession of “fixed” and still, as if it were the frame of a movie moments. In this case, our perception of the passage of time would be an illusion, caused by the passage of the frames one after another.

 

 On the contrary, if time were “ongoing”, it means that between any two points on the timeline would be possible to place an infinite number of other time points. In this case, time does not consist of “fixed frame”, but would flow continuously.

 

 “In our study Faizal- propose assures that time is discrete, and have even suggested several ways to prove experimentally.”

 

 One of the experiments proposed by the team of scientists is to measure the spontaneous emission of a hydrogen atom. The equations of quantum mechanics modified with new ideas scientists predict, in effect, a subtle difference in the rate of spontaneous emission with respect to the equations unchanged. And the effects observed in these measurements can be observed in the rates of disintegration of these particles and unstable nuclei.

 

 Based on its analysis of the spontaneous emission of hydrogen, the researchers were able to estimate the minimum possible time interval is several orders of magnitude above the Planck time. Faizal and his colleagues also suggest that the changes proposed in the basic equations of quantum mechanics could change our concept of time as well as its definition. They explain that the temporal structure could be considered similar to a crystalline structure consisting of discrete segments that are repeated regularly.

 

 In more philosophical terms, the argument that the term structure is “discreet” suggests that our perception of time as something that constantly flows would be nothing but an illusion.

 

 “The physical universe explains Faizal- is actually a motion picture film, in which a series of still frames projected on a screen create the illusion of moving images before. Therefore, if this point view is taken seriously, then our conscious perception of physical reality based on continuous movement becomes an illusion produced by a discrete underlying mathematical structure. “

 

 “The proposal, the researcher becomes a reality Plato physical in nature,” referring to Plato’s argument that there is a true reality that is independent of our senses. “However, unlike the theories of Platonic idealism, our proposal can be tested experimentally, not just philosophically argued.”