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ZENODO
Other literature type . 2026
License: CC BY
Data sources: ZENODO
ZENODO
Other literature type . 2026
License: CC BY
Data sources: Datacite
ZENODO
Other literature type . 2026
License: CC BY
Data sources: Datacite
ZENODO
Other literature type . 2026
License: CC BY
Data sources: Datacite
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The Story of the Missing Time - Time, entanglement, and the conceptual problem underlying quantum mechanics

La storia del tempo che mancava - empo, entanglement e il problema concettuale alla base della meccanica quantistica
Authors: BIANCHET, ALESSANDRO;

The Story of the Missing Time - Time, entanglement, and the conceptual problem underlying quantum mechanics

Abstract

🇬🇧 Abstract (English) For more than a century, modern physics has implicitly assumed the universal existence of time, treating it as an always-available parameter in both classical and quantum theories. This essay offers a historical and conceptual re-examination of some of the main quantum paradoxes — in particular EPR, Bell’s inequalities, Schrödinger’s cat, and the measurement problem — showing that they arise from applying a local temporal description beyond its domain of validity. The central idea is that time should not be regarded as a primitive concept, but as an emergent structure that may fail to be definable in the presence of strong global quantum correlations. From this perspective, entanglement does not imply non-local actions or mysterious collapses, but rather signals the absence of a well-defined local time. Quantum paradoxes are thus reinterpreted as consequences of ill-posed questions, rather than as evidence of an intrinsically paradoxical nature of reality. The essay does not propose a new interpretation of quantum mechanics nor a formal modification of existing theories, but instead advocates a shift in perspective on the role of time, clarifying when and why a local temporal description is physically meaningful. 🇮🇹 Abstract (Italiano) Per oltre un secolo la fisica moderna ha assunto implicitamente l’esistenza universale del tempo, trattandolo come un parametro sempre disponibile sia nella meccanica classica che in quella quantistica. Questo saggio propone una rilettura storica e concettuale di alcuni dei principali paradossi della meccanica quantistica — in particolare EPR, le disuguaglianze di Bell, il gatto di Schrödinger e il problema della misura — mostrando come essi emergano dall’applicazione di una descrizione temporale locale al di fuori del suo dominio di validità. L’idea centrale è che il tempo non debba essere considerato un concetto primitivo, ma una struttura emergente che può non essere definibile in presenza di forti correlazioni quantistiche globali. In questa prospettiva, l’entanglement non introduce azioni non locali o collassi misteriosi, ma segnala l’assenza di un tempo locale ben definito. I paradossi quantistici vengono così reinterpretati come conseguenze di domande mal poste, piuttosto che come indizi di un comportamento intrinsecamente assurdo della natura. Il saggio non propone una nuova interpretazione della meccanica quantistica né una modifica formale delle teorie esistenti, ma suggerisce un cambiamento di prospettiva sul ruolo del tempo, chiarendo quando e perché una descrizione temporale locale sia fisicamente lecita.

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selected citations
These citations are derived from selected sources.
This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Citations provided by BIP!
popularity
This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Popularity provided by BIP!
influence
This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Influence provided by BIP!
impulse
This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Impulse provided by BIP!
0
Average
Average
Average
Green