First Time, Researchers Able To Make Light Appear To Go Both Forward And Backward In Time

For the first time ever, researchers were able to make light appear to go both forward and backward in time.

According to a report from LiveScience, the new approach, developed by a global team of experts, could aid in the development of revolutionary quantum computing methods and ive scientists a better understanding of quantum gravity.

It was accomplished by combining two theories that form a part of the strange realm of quantum mechanics.

What is a “quantum time flip”?

2 independent teams of scientists worked together to achieve what they call a “quantum time flip,” in which a photon exists in both forward & backward time states at the same time.

Essentially, this was achieved through the convergence of quantum superposition and charge, parity, & time reversal (CPT) symmetry, both of which are principles of quantum mechanics, meaning they describe the physical properties of atoms & subatomic particles.

The former, quantum superposition, is a phenomenon in which tiny particles exist in multiple states until they are observed, whereas the latter, CPT, is a principle stating that any system containing particles will obey the same physical laws even if their charge, spatial coordinates, and movements are precisely reversed.

Superposition is famously described in Schrödinger’s cat thought experiment, in which a hypothetical cat is considered dead and alive at the same time due to the fact that its life is in hands of random subatomic event tht both takes place and doesn’t take place until it’s observed.

The results of their twin trials were published in separate papers on October 31 and November 2, both of which have yet to be peer-reviewed.

New experiments may aid in the development of a unified theory of quantum gravity

During their experiments, the scientists placed a photon, a particle of light, in superposition, allowing it to go forward and backward in time.

To accomplish this, each team split a photon along a superposition of two distinct pathways through a crystal. While the superposed photon moved through the crystal in a regular pattern, another path was devised to change the photon’s polarisation — where it points in space — to make it travel backward in time.

The superposed photons were then recombined by moving them through another crystal. The photon polarisation was then measured, and a quantum interference pattern was discovered. This pattern, made-up of light and dark stripes would only be possible if the photon traveled in both directions.

Their findings could enable further improved processing in quantum computing, as they showed that time flips could be linked with reversible logic gates to enable simultaneous computation in both directions. The work also contributes to the scientific community’s understanding of the world of quantum mechanics and may aid in the quest for a unified theory of quantum gravity that combines general relativity with the principles of quantum mechanics.