Nov 1, 2022 07:19 PM
https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-...uring-time
EXCERPTS: Marking the passage of time in a world of ticking clocks and swinging pendulums is a simple case of counting the seconds between 'then' and 'now'. Down at the quantum scale of buzzing electrons, however, 'then' can't always be anticipated. Worse still, 'now' often blurs into a haze of uncertainty. A stopwatch simply isn't going to cut it for some scenarios.
A potential solution could be found in the very shape of the quantum fog itself, according to researchers from Uppsala University in Sweden. Their experiments on the wave-like nature of something called a Rydberg state have revealed a novel way to measure time that doesn't require a precise starting point.
[...] "If you're using a counter, you have to define zero. You start counting at some point," physicist Marta Berholts from the University of Uppsala in Sweden, who led the team, explained to New Scientist.
"The benefit of this is that you don't have to start the clock – you just look at the interference structure and say 'okay, it's been 4 nanoseconds.'" (MORE - missing details)
EXCERPTS: Marking the passage of time in a world of ticking clocks and swinging pendulums is a simple case of counting the seconds between 'then' and 'now'. Down at the quantum scale of buzzing electrons, however, 'then' can't always be anticipated. Worse still, 'now' often blurs into a haze of uncertainty. A stopwatch simply isn't going to cut it for some scenarios.
A potential solution could be found in the very shape of the quantum fog itself, according to researchers from Uppsala University in Sweden. Their experiments on the wave-like nature of something called a Rydberg state have revealed a novel way to measure time that doesn't require a precise starting point.
[...] "If you're using a counter, you have to define zero. You start counting at some point," physicist Marta Berholts from the University of Uppsala in Sweden, who led the team, explained to New Scientist.
"The benefit of this is that you don't have to start the clock – you just look at the interference structure and say 'okay, it's been 4 nanoseconds.'" (MORE - missing details)