Relativity theory also applicable in other research areas
(June 16, 2015) Einstein’s
theory of time and space will celebrate its 100th anniversary this year. Even
today it captures the imagination of scientists. In an international collaboration,
researchers from the Universities of Vienna (Časlav Brukner), Harvard (Igor
Pikovski) and Queensland have now discovered that this world-famous theory can
explain yet another puzzling phenomenon: the transition from quantum behavior
to our classical, everyday world. Their results are published in the journal
"Nature Physics".
In 1915 Albert Einstein formulated the theory of general
relativity which fundamentally changed our understanding of gravity. He
explained gravity as the manifestation of the curvature of space and time.
Einstein’s theory predicts that the flow of time is altered by mass. This effect,
known as "gravitational time dilation", causes time to be slowed down
near a massive object. It affects everything and everybody; in fact, people
working on the ground floor will age slower than their colleagues a floor
above, by about 10 nanoseconds in one year. This tiny effect has actually been
confirmed in many experiments with very precise clocks. Now, a team of
researchers from the University of Vienna, Harvard University and the
University of Queensland have discovered that the slowing down of time can
explain another perplexing phenomenon: the transition from quantum behavior to
our classical, everyday world.