Next Time You're Late, Blame the Quantum Collapse of Time: Milky Way News

EARTH, Laniakea Supercluster—New observations around quantum mechanics suggest that “keeping track of time” might be an impossible feat (so maybe those of us with time management problems were on to something all along).

A group of international physicists, supported by the Foundational Questions Institute (FQxI), recently examined quantum collapse models and discovered that the indefinite nature of particles could impact how time functions, and as a result, impact how it’s observed.

The work builds on a 1980s proposal called a spontaneous collapse model, which holds that a particle’s wavefunction can suddenly crystallize into a single outcome without an observer.

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The research was led by Nicola Bortolotti, a PhD student at the Enrico Fermi Museum and Research Centre (CREF) in Rome, Italy, who along with her team, were able to make observations based on two leading versions of the original collapse models.

“What we did was to take seriously the idea that collapse models may be linked to gravity. And then we asked a very concrete question: What does this imply for time itself?” Bortolotti said in a ScienceDaily press release.

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Their findings, published in Physical Review Research in 2025, suggest a built-in fuzziness in the flow of time itself in these models, meaning time can never be measured with perfect accuracy (imagine using that as an excuse for being late). Bortolotti did note that the increment of time that was affected wasn’t enough to impact current technology’s ability to register time.

In addition to their findings, the study also proposes a way to test how the models stand up against standard quantum theory and the potential bridge between quantum mechanics and gravity.

The study’s abstract states, “Despite their nonrelativistic nature, these models suggest an induced uncertainty in the flow of time due to fluctuations in the Newtonian potential. We calculate the ultimate limit on time uncertainty and demonstrate that the resulting clock-time uncertainty remains negligible for all contemporary timekeeping devices, including atomic clocks.”

To be clear, Newtonian potential describes how the distribution of mass creates a gravitational field, meaning fluctuations in gravity result in fluctuations in time. This is because gravity affects how time moves. The greater the gravitational pull, the slower time moves (talk about a long day feeling heavy).

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The study goes on to explain that quantum mechanics has been widely tested and debated for years, with most theories and arguments leaving gaps in the logic. The authors argue that wavefunction collapse itself “provides an alternative explanation for the quantum-to-classical transition without invoking the standard quantum measurement postulate.”

The study may offer solutions to some of the gaps previously viewed as unanswerable. This is achieved through examining how these observations reveal characteristics more reflective of classical physics, rooted in definite structure, than quantum physics, rooted in complex entanglement. Basically, the solid, classical world we live in might emerge from quantum fuzz on its own, without needing anyone to look at it.

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Ultimately, the findings of this study open the door for a new theory to be examined within the realm of quantum mechanics. Members of the team that conducted the research hope that it will lead to more under-studied or under-tested areas of physics to be explored more deeply.

If they're right, every clock on Earth is a little bit wrong, just not by enough to notice. A whole new meaning to making time under pressure.

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