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Health & Science3h 29m ago

Ultracold atoms in a lab-built mini universe allow physicists to track time without a clock, using entropy inside the system.

University of Birmingham

Who
Professor Giovanni Barontini of the University of Birmingham
What
Ultracold atoms in a lab-built mini universe allow physicists to track time without a clock, using entropy inside the system.
When
Sun, 14 Jun 2026 14:07:00 GMT · 3h 29m ago
Where
University of Birmingham ·
Why
The experiment tests the idea that time may emerge from relationships and changes within the universe, rather than being a built-in feature.
The Frontline Impact

How this affects you

This research provides a new experimental platform for testing concepts in quantum gravity and cosmology, offering insights into the fundamental nature of time and how it arises in isolated quantum systems. It could influence future studies on the early universe and black hole physics.

Story chain

2 events in this thread
  1. Currently Reading3h 29m ago
    Ultracold atoms in a lab-built mini universe allow physicists to track time without a clock, using entropy inside the system.
  2. Health & Science3h 29m ago
    Physicists built a 'mini universe' using approximately 24,000 rubidium atoms cooled to a few billionths of a degree above absolute zero to study how time can emerge from changes within a system, rather than an external clock.
    Open article

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