Source: IE
Context: Scientists conducted a study using observations of quasars, powerful black holes, to demonstrate “time dilation” in the early universe.
- The study showed that time passed only about a fifth as quickly as it does today, around 12.3 billion years ago when the universe was much younger.
About Quasars:
- Quasars are tremendously active supermassive black holes millions to billions of times more massive than our sun, usually residing at centres of galaxies.
- They devour matter drawn to them by their immense gravitational pull and unleash torrents of radiation including jets of high-energy particles, while a glowing disk of matter spins around them.
Significance:
- This supports Einstein’s theory of relativity, which states that time and space are intertwined and that the universe has been expanding since the Big Bang.
- Time dilation means that if one could travel back to that time, a second would still feel like a second, but from the perspective of a person today, a second back then would unfold in five seconds. This study adds to previous evidence of time dilation based on observations of supernovas, and it highlights the complexity of time in modern physics.
