By KiddieDaily Editors · Jul 2, 2026 · 3 min read · Ages 8–10 · 1 source

Random wobbles in time could finally solve gravity’s greatest mystery

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The most vexing question in physics right now is how general relativity – the laws that govern gravity and space-time on large scales – meshes with quantum mechanics, the laws that govern very small scales.

There are many potential solutions, none proven, and so far very few of them have been conclusively ruled out either – or even rigorously investigated. Now, though, the day is approaching when one of those ideas could be put to the test. If it holds up, it could dramatically change our view of time.

Most of the proposed ideas to combine relativity and quantum mechanics are called theories of quantum gravity, but the creator of this alternative theory, Jonathan Oppenheim at University College London, calls his post-quantum gravity. Unlike the others, his idea doesn’t attempt to make space-time, and therefore gravity, quantum. Making a theory quantum, or quantising it, involves breaking it down into its fundamental parts, or quanta.

Light is quantum – its quanta are photons, and two of the other three fundamental forces are definitely quantum as well. Gravity is the only one that hasn’t been proven to be quantum, and Oppenheim and his colleagues propose that perhaps it isn’t. The weirdness of neutrinos could completely rewrite particle physics The construction of post-quantum gravity assumes that space-time and gravity aren’t quantum, but rather continuous and fundamental, without constituent building blocks.

From there, it is a long chain of complex mathematical calculations and simulations of how this non-quantum space-time would interact with the neatly quantum forces, particles and fields contained within it. Among the effects that popped out of that chain of calculations is a strange randomness in space-time. When we think of time, we might picture a clock ticking regularly, each tick following the next with equal intervals between them all.

In post-quantum gravity, there would be small, random fluctuations in these ticks. It would occur on scales too small for us to notice, but time would become “wobbly”, flowing unpredictably forwards. These fluctuations are part of what allows Oppenheim’s theory of gravity to link up with quantum mechanics.

When they are included in some basic quantum-mechanical calculations, several fundamental behaviours observed in quantum systems result, including the rules about how a quantum system seems to transform into a classical one when it is observed – the same rule that says that while Schrödinger’s cat may be both alive and dead before the box is opened, once you open the box and take a look, the cat will only be one or the other. The cause of time becoming wobbly, though, is still uncertain. It arises from the equations, but Oppenheim and his colleagues haven’t yet tied this randomness to any particular source.

“Is there something, some specific physical effect, that is causing it to flow in an unpredictable way? It may be, but that’s one level deeper, and at the moment I don’t think we’re ready to go there – scientifically or philosophically,” says Oppenheim. “But if we’re not going to quantise space-time, then it necessarily has to become like this.” Oppenheim admits that the entire idea is highly controversial among physicists.

“I don’t know anyone who thinks it’s more likely to be true than not true – I think I’m probably alone on that one – but I think there are a lot of people who think we ought to test it,” he says.

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