Researchers at the University of Toronto have made a groundbreaking discovery, demonstrating that “negative time” is not just a theoretical concept but a tangible phenomenon. Scientists at the institution have shown, thanks to an innovative quantum experiment, that light appears to emerge from a material before penetrating it, thus overturning several decades of dominant ideas about the nature of time. Although much of the attention to the findings is international in scope, scientific communities have largely raised eyebrows about it.
The results, which have not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal, should encourage further research into the mysteries of time and quantum mechanics.
“It took positive time, but our experiment observing that photons can make atoms appear to spend negative time in the excited state is complete!” wrote Aephraim Steinberg, a physicist at the University of Toronto, in an article on X (formerly Twitter) about the new study.
Woo-hoo!
It took a long time,
but our experiment observing that photons can make atoms appear to spend *negative* time in the excited state is over!It sounds crazy, I know, but take a look!
Congratulations to Daniela + the rest of the team!https://t.co/rHrAUJq5rX pic.twitter.com/Lz7Lazb1Gs– Aephraim Steinberg (@QuantumAephraim) September 6, 2024
Although the term “negative time” may sound like a concept from science fiction, Steinberg defends its use, hoping it will spark deeper discussions about the mysteries of quantum physics.
According to a report from Scientific American, the idea for this work arose in 2017. At the time, Steinberg and a lab colleague, then doctoral student Josiah Sinclair, were interested in the interaction of light and matter, more specifically in a phenomenon called excitation atomic: When photons pass through a medium and get absorbed, the electrons swirling around the atoms in that medium jump to higher energy levels. When these excited electrons return to their original state, they release the absorbed energy in the form of re-emitted photons, introducing a delay in the observed transit time of light through the medium.