English

Quantum clock: A critical discussion on spacetime

General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology 2016-03-14 v1 High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena High Energy Physics - Theory Quantum Physics

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\Delta t that this clock can measure scales as the inverse of its size Δr\Delta r. This implies an uncertainty relation between space and time: Δr\Delta r Δt\Delta t >G/c4> G \hbar / c^4; where G, \hbar 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.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1603.03723,
  title  = {Quantum clock: A critical discussion on spacetime},
  author = {Luciano Burderi and Tiziana Di Salvo and Rosario Iaria},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1603.03723},
  year   = {2016}
}

Comments

10 pages, published in Physical Review D

R2 v1 2026-06-22T13:09:03.767Z