Time reflections sound like science fiction, but they were just proven to be real

For more than 50 years, researchers have theorized that a special form of reflection known as time reflections has existed in the realm of quantum mechanics. However, proving the existence of this intriguing mechanic has always seemed impossible, at least until recently.

While the term “time reflection” may conjure up images of time travel movies and science fiction, these reflections are not really time travel. Instead, a time reflection occurs when an entire medium in which an electromagnetic wave is moving completely changes course. This causes part of the wave to reverse and transform its frequency.

But these reflections require what scientists call a uniform variation across their entire electromagnetic field. Because of this, scientists have always believed that time reflections would require too much energy for us to observe them in action. However, researchers from the Advanced Science Research Center at the CUNY Graduate Center in New York City have successfully observed such a reflection.

To achieve this spectacle, the researchers sent broadband signals through a metal strip filled with electronic switches, all connected to reservoir capacitors. This allowed the researchers to trigger the switches whenever they wanted, increasing the impedance of the entire metal strip. The sudden change then caused the signals to carry time reflections successfully.

The researchers published the results of these findings in a paper in the journal Natural physics. Accomplishing such a feat was not easy, but the discovery here could completely change how some scientists approach this intriguing mechanic in the future. If nothing else, the proof of the existence of time reflections is a major step forward in quantum mechanics. And it answers a question that has vexed scientists for over five decades.

The researchers note that these special quantum reflections also behave differently from our standard spatial reflections. As such, the time reflections echo the last part of the signal first. This means that if you stared into a mirror of time, you would not see your face looking back at you. Instead, you would be staring at your back.

The study of time travel is not new, nor is the quest to prove the existence of time reflections. But now that scientists have managed to reverse time on a quantum level and even show how time reflections happen, we may see further breakthroughs in this field emerge over the next several years.