For a long time, scientists thought that space and time were completely separate. In the 19th century, physicists presented the space as a 3D stage – such as the length, width and height of a room – while time was like a ticking clock that went on its own.
But then Albert Einstein came by and said, “No, space and time are actually part of one big thing called space-time.” He described space-time as a 4D fabric that combines the three dimensions of space (length, width, height) with time as the fourth dimension. This idea has been the basis of modern physics for more than 100 years.
Now, one New study Shads things. The researchers behind this study think that the old 19th-century idea had finally been exactly that space and time could actually be separate.
What have they found?
The researchers looked at something that was called a Qubit. A Qubit is a small quantum object, such as a building block of the universe on the smallest scale. See a quubit as a special coin that at the same time heads, tails or both can be. This status “both at the same time” is called super position, and it is something that only quantum objects can do. Regular objects, such as a real coin, can only be heads or tails – not both.
The scientists studied how a single Qubit changes over time. They have measured the Qubit at different times, such as checking the weather every hour to see how it changes throughout the day. They wanted to see if the behavior of the Qubit could tell them something about the form of the space itself.
Here is the surprising part: the way in which the quubit changed over time was very similar to the geometry of 3D room – the type of space in which we live, with length, width and height. For example, they found a mathematical pattern in the behavior of the Qubit that matched how we measure distances in space, such as the straight distance between two points (this is called the Euclidic metric).
Imagine playing a game where you follow a bouncing ball over time. By looking at how the ball moves, you suddenly realize that his path looks like a map of your neighborhood. That is similar to what the scientists discovered: the changes of the quubit in time seemed to create a map of 3D room.
The researchers think that this discovery suggests that space and time may not be as connected as we thought. They believe that the geometry of the room (the 3D world we see) may only come out of time. In other words, time can be the most important ingredient and space can simply be a result of how time works.
Consider time as a film role. Every frame of the film is a moment in time, and while the reel is playing, you see a story unfolding. The researchers say that the ‘story’ of 3D space can be hidden in the way that time ends in time.
How can these ideas of Einstein challenge the ideas?
Einstein’s theory of special theory of relativity says that space and time are woven together in a 4D space-time fabric. For example, if you travel very quickly (close to the speed of light), the time for you compares to someone who stands still.
This shows how space and time are linked. But if space and time are separated, as this new study suggests, this would violate some of the rules of Einstein’s theory. That is why this idea is so controversial among scientists.
The authors of the study say that their idea needs more tests. They propose to do experiments with Ultracold Quantum objects or Qubits in quantum computers to see if they behave in the same way.
However, not everyone agrees with his findings. Some critics say that the study does not explain how the space could come from the time – it simply shows a mathematical agreement.
The researchers also wonder whether space-time is only a handy way to describe the universe, but not the real truth. Imagine that you have always used a map to bypass your city, but then you discover that the map is not the city itself – it’s just a tool to help you understand. That is what the scientists mean: space-time can be a useful tool, but the universe can work in a completely different way.
This study was published on Arxiv, where scientists share their research before it is officially revised.
