What If Everything You Know About Time Is Wrong? New Study Reveals Shocking Possibility

A new study by the University of Surrey suggests that time might not be as linear as we think. Researchers propose that, at the quantum level, time could flow in both forward and backward directions simultaneously. This theory challenges our traditional understanding of time's arrow, which assumes time moves irreversibly from past to future. 

In a paper published in the journal Scientific Reports, findings indicate that certain quantum systems can have two arrows of time, one moving forward and another backward. This raises the astonishing possibility that time could be flowing in reverse all around us, and we might not even be aware of it. The discovery could revolutionize our understanding of thermodynamics, quantum mechanics, and the universe's creation.

"Microscopically speaking, if you think about the arrow of time, we essentially rely on proxies," says the paper's senior author, Andrea Rocco, PhD, associate professor of physics and mathematical biology at the University of Surrey. At the subatomic level where quantum mechanics operates, we can't always see obvious changes that indicate time's passage. Instead, we need to look at other indicators, like entropy.

Dr Andrea Rocco, Associate Professor in Physics and Mathematical Biology at the University of Surrey and lead author of the study, said, "One way to explain this is when you look at a process like spilled milk spreading across a table, it's clear that time is moving forward. But if you were to play that in reverse, like a movie, you'd immediately know something was wrong-it would be hard to believe milk could just gather back into a glass.

"However, there are processes, such as the motion of a pendulum, that look just as believable in reverse. The puzzle is that, at the most fundamental level, the laws of physics resemble the pendulum; they do not account for irreversible processes.

"Our findings suggest that while our common experience tells us that time only moves one way, we are just unaware that the opposite direction would have been equally possible."

The study explored how a quantum system-the world of the sub-atomic-interacts with its environment, known as an "open quantum system."