Time travel, widely recognized as a staple of science fiction stories and films, is at least theoretically possible under certain conditions. These include situations like extremely high-speed travel through space, as well as a traveler’s proximity to particularly strong sources of gravity.
However, new research suggests scientists could be moving closer to extending the manipulation of time beyond theory and into practical use, thanks to new innovations in quantum physics.
Einstein’s theory of relativity helped to show the intimate connection between time and space, revealing that as a traveler’s speed while passing through space increases, their experience of time slows down. This reality has been experimentally verified in experiments involving observed variances on separate clocks that reveal what physicists call time dilation.
Technically, as we walk down the street on any given day of the week, our feet are moving through time at a slightly different rate than our head, given the closer proximity of our lower body to Earth’s gravitational field. However, such variances are so subtle that they are indiscernible, and quirks of space and time like these have little practical significance.
However, recent research by a team at Washington University in St. Louis, along with collaborators from NIST and the University of Cambridge, is revealing how a new kind of quantum sensor designed to leverage quantum entanglement could lead to a form of real-life time-traveling detectors. The breakthrough discovery, detailed in a new study published on June 27, 2024, presents a bold possibility: scientists could soon be able to collect data from the past.
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