'Time doesn’t exist': Groundbreaking physics rewrites the rules of the universe
Produced by: Mohsin Shaikh
Illusion Unveiled
It is argued by theoretical physicist Carlo Rovelli that time, as we perceive it, is an illusion shaped by limited human understanding and quantum uncertainty.
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Relativity Expanded
Rovelli extends Einstein’s space-time by proposing that even relativity’s flexible time is a simplification, with no fundamental "clock" governing the universe.
Event Web
Reality, according to Rovelli, is a web of events, not particles or fields. Time arises from relationships between these events, not from a universal flow.
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Entropy Flow
Our experience of time is tied to entropy, the measure of disorder. As entropy increases, we perceive a past and future, linking time to thermodynamic principles.
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Quantum Gravity
Loop quantum gravity (LQG), co-developed by Rovelli, dismisses time as fundamental. The Wheeler-DeWitt equation describes a timeless universe shaped by causal interactions.
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Causality Emerges
Rovelli compares reality to a storm—a collection of occurrences. Time’s apparent flow is the human interpretation of sequences of causally related events.
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Philosophical Shift
Theories like Rovelli’s challenge long-held beliefs, forcing society to reconsider how it organizes life around an emergent, rather than absolute, concept of time.
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Critic Concerns
Skeptics argue that core concepts like the quantization of space-time in LQG lack experimental proof, casting doubt on the absence of fundamental time.
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Enduring Debate
Rovelli’s "The Order of Time" opens new questions in physics and philosophy, ensuring that the nature of time remains a central, unresolved mystery of the universe.
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