This is Huge: Scientists Successfully ‘Warp’ Time In The Lab, Based On Einstein’s Theory…
Scientists have recently found a way to “warp” time on the smallest scale ever. Einstein’s theory of general relativity says that when there are strong gravitational fields or very fast speeds, time may be bent. This is called the slowing down of time.
Clocks also tick in different ways depending on the gravity. Scientists at JILA used the most accurate clocks on Earth to calculate time dilation on the smallest scale ever.
JILA was made by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Colorado Boulder (UCB). With this experiment, they have found a way to make clocks that are 50 times more accurate than those on the market right now.
The study, which was published in Nature on Wednesday, says that the achievement could help solve some of the universe’s scientific mysteries, such as the “union of general relativity and quantum mechanics.”
The goal of these scientists is to link time and space in their minds, which means to show that they are linked and affect each other. Scientists at JILA have spent the last few years trying to make atomic clocks more accurate. Atomic clocks are the most accurate way to measure time because they can lose only one second in 15 billion years.
As atomic clocks get more accurate, scientists may be able to look at atomic waves at “the curvature of spacetime, where the classical and quantum worlds meet.” Scientists at JILA were able to measure time slowing down from just one millimeter away. Scientists may be able to learn more about what happens when time slows down over long distances with the help of this small achievement.
They were also able to keep the atoms in a state called “quantum coherence” for 37 seconds, during which time they behaved in a way that could be predicted.
