Study Suggests Quantum Collapse Could Impose Limits on Time Precision

Mon, 04 May 2026 07:08:00 +0200

Recent research by an international team of physicists, supported by the Foundational Questions Institute (FQXi), investigates how quantum collapse models could subtly affect time itself. Quantum mechanics allows particles to exist in multiple states at once, described mathematically by a wavefunction. Normally, these superpositions collapse into a single outcome when observed. However, alternative theories known as spontaneous quantum collapse models suggest wavefunctions might collapse independently of observation, potentially influenced by gravity. The researchers studied two prominent models: the Diósi-Penrose model, which links gravity to wavefunction collapse, and Continuous Spontaneous Localization, connecting quantum behavior to fluctuations in spacetime. Their findings indicate that if these models are accurate, time cannot be perfectly precise but contains an inherent, extremely small uncertainty. This imposes a theoretical limit on clock accuracy, although current atomic clo