It is not easy to understand what space and time are in all their complexities. We don’t say that. says Alvaro de Regulaa renowned particle physicist who, among many other accomplishments, taught at Harvard University and led CERN Department of Theoretical Physics. He even had the chance to go back in time Talk face to face with Albert Einstein (in imagination and great thanks of course).
“Space and time are so fundamental that we can talk about them, but without being able to recognize with the utmost precision what they really are. We can liken space to a kind of set of dominoes, so that we can glue each other on a plane and then put another plane on top of it.” Building it the same way. Obviously, space is not really like that, but this analogy can help us understand its nature in a way, ”Alfaro points out.
Anyway, the first thing we can do is try to understand the relationship It exists between space and time. If we have a flat area and there are two ants in it, we can draw them at a particular moment in time, and then at a later moment we can draw a plane on top with the same ants, but in two different positions. In this way, we can build a kind of sandwich where space goes in the horizontal direction of my drawing, and time in the vertical direction,” explains the former director of theoretical physics at CERN.
Before we proceed, and as a prelude to the news we are about to investigate, it is worth remembering this light’s speed He is divorced. To fit this idea, Einstein decided to modify the concept of time in his theory, explaining that its rhythm depends on the state of motion of the body, but also on whether you are in an intense gravitational field. We explain this in more detail in our article dedicated to Time travel physicsBut the really important thing is that we already have the tools we need to move forward.
Curved space-time inside the laboratory. There is no better game
A group of researchers from the University of Heidelberg in Germany managed to recreate it in their lab Active spacetime which can be manipulated flexibly to simulate a family of curved universes. It sounds incredible. So much so, that it actually sounds like a sci-fi movie plot line. but not. It’s real. In fact, his experiment was reviewed and published in nature.
The cosmological models physicists currently work with raise questions about the way space has expanded and changed its curvature.
In the first paragraphs of this article, we reviewed several important ideas, one of which states that space and time are closely related, in addition to that their structure is fixed. This knowledge served as a starting point for these scientists to design an experiment that would allow them to better understand the interaction between matter and the space-time continuum, as well as to test the predictions of quantum field theory.
In general, this last theoretical model proposes the use of quantum mechanics, classical field theory and special relativity to describe classical field systems, such as gravitational fields or electromagnetic fields. The cosmological models that physicists currently work with raise questions about the way space has expanded and His curvature has changed. Namely, these researchers’ experiment can help us better understand how space-time, which at a very early stage could have been curved, evolved.
So far we’ve been able to get a relatively accurate idea of the purpose of these researchers, but we still need to investigate something important: How did they do it? How did they simulate so many curved universes in the lab in order to manipulate so many different cosmic scenarios? To bend the space-time continuum in an easily perceivable way, we need massive masses, such as that star, or almost unimaginable energies. It is clear that these physicists do not have huge masses nor huge energies.
In this experiment, the shape of a cloud of potassium atoms determines the dimensions and properties of a particular continuous time series.
But what they do have is a quantum field simulator that they’ve honed by cooling a cloud of potassium atoms to a few nanokelvins above absolute zero. This strategy allowed them to get A Bose-Einstein condenserwhich, without going into the most complex details, is a special state of matter whose properties clearly reveal even the slightest energy perturbations to which the atoms in the cloud are subjected.
In this experiment, the shape of a cloud of potassium atoms determines the dimensions and properties of a specific time series through which energy disturbances of the atoms propagate in the form of waves. In addition, these researchers were able to work out the interactions between the atoms by fine-tuning the strength of the magnetic field that confines them, thus, in a way, they were able to develop a very protracted test scenario. it is exciting. Your article is complicatedbut if you are not easily intimidated and want to know more precisely what his experience consists of, do not hesitate to consult him.
Cover Photo: ThisIsEngineering
more information: nature
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