While classical physics treats time symmetrically, real-world events like spilled milk reveal a clear direction, giving rise to the "arrow of time."
In open quantum systems, physicists discovered two arrows of time—one pointing forward, the other backward—challenging our belief in time’s one-way flow.
Rocco likens time’s flow to city traffic: we can see paths both forward and backward, but can’t predict which direction time will actually take.
According to Dr. Andrea Rocco, entropy in open quantum systems increases in both time directions, meaning disorder grows whether time moves forward or backward.
Spilled milk only flows out, never back—illustrating how entropy’s irreversibility marks the real-world direction of time.
A swinging pendulum appears identical whether played forward or backward, showing that on small scales, time’s direction isn’t always clear.
Unlike isolated systems, open quantum systems exchange energy with their environment, making time’s passage and preferred direction visible.
This theory supports the idea that the Big Bang birthed two universes, each moving in opposite temporal directions—a concept now with solid mathematical backing.