A team of researchers at the University of Toronto has unveiled the discovery of “negative time,” a concept that challenges traditional notions of time in quantum mechanics. While the findings have sparked considerable intrigue, they have also drawn skepticism from parts of the scientific community.
The team, led by Daniela Angulo and Aephraim Steinberg, conducted a series of experiments in the university’s basement laboratory, claiming to have confirmed the existence of negative time. This phenomenon, previously regarded as an illusion caused by wave interactions with matter, emerged during their investigation into the interaction between light and atoms.
In the experiments, photons—light particles—passed through atoms, some of which absorbed and later re-emitted the photons. This process temporarily excited the atoms before they returned to their original state. Initially, the researchers sought to measure how long the atoms remained excited but encountered an unexpected result. “The measured time was negative,” explained Steinberg, a professor specializing in experimental quantum physics.
This finding—where the atoms’ excited state duration was calculated as less than zero—contradicted conventional understandings of time. Steinberg illustrated the concept with an analogy: imagine cars entering a tunnel at noon, but the first cars emerge slightly earlier at 11:59 am.
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Historically, such results were dismissed as inconsequential. However, the study uncovered a similar anomaly, which the researchers argue demonstrates the quantum nature of light and its interactions with matter. Although the term “negative time” may evoke science fiction, the researchers assert that it sheds light on the behavior of quantum particles. “This is a complex topic, even for discussions among physicists,” Steinberg admitted.
The researchers clarified that their findings do not imply time travel but instead reflect quantum mechanics’ probabilistic nature, where particles defy rigid, deterministic rules. Importantly, the discovery does not conflict with Einstein’s theory of relativity, which states that nothing can travel faster than light. “We’re not suggesting anything traveled backward in time,” Steinberg emphasized, calling such interpretations a misunderstanding.
Despite the groundbreaking nature of the discovery, the research has faced criticism. German theoretical physicist Sabine Hossenfelder dismissed the findings in a widely viewed YouTube video, claiming, “The negative time in this experiment isn’t about time but describes how photons move through a medium and how their phases shift.”
Angulo and Steinberg, however, stand by their research, emphasizing its importance in understanding quantum phenomena and the complexities of light. While controversy over the term “negative time” persists, Steinberg noted that no serious scientist has disputed their experimental results.
