Quantum clock: A critical discussion on spacetime

Luciano Burderi, Tiziana Di Salvo, and Rosario Iaria
Phys. Rev. D 93, 064017 – Published 8 March 2016

Abstract

We critically discuss the measure of very short time intervals. By means of a Gedankenexperiment, we describe an ideal clock based on the occurrence of completely random events. Many previous thought experiments have suggested fundamental Planck-scale limits on measurements of distance and time. Here we present a new type of thought experiment, based on a different type of clock, that provide further support for the existence of such limits. We show that the minimum time interval Δt that this clock can measure scales as the inverse of its size Δr. This implies an uncertainty relation between space and time: ΔrΔt>G/c4, where G, , and c are the gravitational constant, the reduced Planck constant, and the speed of light, respectively. We outline and briefly discuss the implications of this uncertainty conjecture.

  • Received 5 July 2012

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.93.064017

© 2016 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Particles & Fields

Authors & Affiliations

Luciano Burderi1,*, Tiziana Di Salvo2, and Rosario Iaria2

  • 1Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli Studi di Cagliari, SP Monserrato-Sestu, KM 0.7, 09042 Monserrato, Italy
  • 2Dipartimento di Fisica e Chimica, Università degli Studi di Palermo, via Archirafi 36, 90123 Palermo, Italy

  • *burderi@dsf.unica.it

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Issue

Vol. 93, Iss. 6 — 15 March 2016

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