this post was submitted on 01 May 2026
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[–] atro_city@fedia.io 41 points 2 months ago (1 children)

So what does this all mean? Is a time machine just around the corner?

Sadly, no. Our experiment is fully explained by standard physics.

But it does show that negative dwell time is not an artefact. However paradoxical it may seem, it has a directly measurable effect on the atomic cloud that the photon traverses. And it reminds us that there are still lands to discover on the odyssey that is quantum research.

I was awaiting an explanation... now I'm just left wondering.

[–] Avicenna@programming.dev 36 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

That is how %100 of physics articles with cool names feel like, you usually end up with something like "we measured a slightly different voltage which in this context is a signal for the existence of parallel universes"

[–] altphoto@lemmy.today 25 points 2 months ago

Negative time as experienced by most people at the DMV.

[–] NatakuNox@lemmy.world 17 points 2 months ago (1 children)
[–] MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip 1 points 2 months ago (3 children)
[–] NeatNit@discuss.tchncs.de 4 points 2 months ago

I think it's the movie Tenet

[–] Watermark710@piefed.social 4 points 2 months ago

It's a gif from the movie Tenet, which is about negative time.

[–] NatakuNox@lemmy.world 2 points 2 months ago

No, it's a video of the moment the two scientist measured negative time....

It's from the Movie TENET

[–] sorter_plainview@lemmy.today 14 points 2 months ago (1 children)

So what does this all mean? Is a time machine just around the corner?

Sadly, no. Our experiment is fully explained by standard physics.

But it does show that negative dwell time is not an artefact. However paradoxical it may seem, it has a directly measurable effect on the atomic cloud that the photon traverses. And it reminds us that there are still lands to discover on the odyssey that is quantum research.

[–] OwOarchist@pawb.social 4 points 2 months ago (1 children)

However paradoxical it may seem, it has a directly measurable effect on the atomic cloud that the photon traverses

So ... a proton exits this 'atomic cloud' before it enters?

[–] Inucune@lemmy.world 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Are we potentially getting close to detecting if a tackyon exists?

[–] MalReynolds@slrpnk.net 4 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Seems pretty standard model still, more interesting behavior hiding in the indeterminance principle. Still, negative time hints at negative energy which could certainly change the game.

[–] OwOarchist@pawb.social 4 points 2 months ago (1 children)

negative time hints at negative energy

Energy = mass, and negative mass would have some really bonkers paradoxical behavior...

[–] MalReynolds@slrpnk.net 4 points 2 months ago

Including the aforementioned time travel via stabilization of wormholes ala Morris–Thorne...

[–] Gsus4@mander.xyz 10 points 2 months ago
[–] korda@aussie.zone 7 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Oh no, it’s the plot from Outer Wilds! Don’t go breaking spacetime.

[–] KingGimpicus@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 months ago

Well, part of the plot anyways. Im pretty sure we save spacetime from the big cold dark in the end. Or something.

[–] mycodesucks@lemmy.world 4 points 2 months ago (2 children)
[–] kbobabob@lemmy.dbzer0.com 8 points 2 months ago

Here is the paper from 1993 when this was originally tested.

https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.71.708

[–] UltraGiGaGigantic@lemmy.ml 2 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Me when I start working a double.

At least no one has invented triples yet...

[–] glimse@lemmy.world 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Triples exist and they're safe

[–] Zron@lemmy.world 0 points 2 months ago

I see you’ve never been on call

[–] Libb@piefed.social 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Haven't many people experienced that? It's called scrolling on social media, right?

[–] Get_Off_My_WLAN@fedia.io 10 points 2 months ago

I think that's time dilation, when your 10 minutes on the phone was actually an hour.