Scientists say it’s impossible to develop 100% accurate clocks

No Clock is Accurate

Poland: A team of scientist from the University of Nottingham in the UK and the University of Warsaw in Poland have come to the conclusion that no clock is capable of depicting time with 100% accuracy. The team of researchers claims that it is impossible to achieve proper time on any clock. Their inference is based on research on systems using very large acceleration.

Andrzej Dragan from the Department of Physics at the University of Warsaw pointed out that the theory of relativity assumed that it was possible to build a clock that can measure the precise passage of time.

The recent research, however, seeks to dismiss this claim especially in situations where there are fast accelerations involved.

Dragan stated that simple clocks have unstable particles, but irregular time occurs especially where accelerations go beyond a certain level according to the team’s research.

He also added that if simple clocks such as the Muons are influenced by the accelerations, then other clocks based on the quantum field theory will also be affected.

Scientists were able to observe the irregular passage of time by analyzing the decaying time. The observation included the muons moving nearly at the speed of light and those moving slowly.

The scientists were seeking out the behavior of unstable particles moving in a straight line. Faster muons are less likely to show decay. Velocity, therefore, has a direct impact on clocks and their accuracy.

In 1976, William Unruh predicted that the number of visible particles in a quantum field differs based on the velocity that is observed. The more the acceleration, the more the number of particles observed.

Mr. Dragan pointed out that the calculations in the research indicated time disorders in cases where the number of accelerations was high.

According to Mr. Dragan’s explanation, achieving a precise measurement of proper time is therefore not possible.

The research findings were initially published in Quantum Gravity and the Journal Classical.

About the author

Nitika

Nitika Munshi

Nitika is an MCA graduate and works as an all-around news writer at PC-Tablet. In free time, she works on Photoshop and plays GTA V on her Xbox. A tech-enthusiast at heart, she explores ways that businesses can leverage the Internet and move their businesses to the next level.