Planck power could unlock missing links beween quantum spacetime, Einstein’s relativity
When spacetime is divided into tiny units, the obscure connection between quantum theory and generally relativity suddenly becomes clear.
Looks like we’re closer than ever to connecting general relativity and quantum mechanics. A new study suggests that when we break down spacetime into tiny discrete units, gravity, which is a macroscopic phenomenon, can be explained through quantum theory.
In most everyday situations, this mismatch between the two theories doesn’t cause problems because general relativity applies to large objects (planets, stars, galaxies), and quantum theory applies to tiny particles (atoms, photons).
However, in extreme cases like black holes and the Big Bang, we need a theory that includes both. For example, in a black hole, gravity is so strong that all matter collapses into a single point. To understand this, we must see how gravity behaves at the quantum level.
This is where the new study could help. “Our approach is that space and time themselves are not continuous but consist of small portions. If this thesis is correct, then gravity can also be described with the help of quantum theory,” Wolfgang Wieland, study author and a theoretical physicist at the Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU), said.