A chronon is a proposed quantum of time, that is, a discrete and indivisible "unit" of time as part of a hypothesis that proposes that time is not continuous. In simple language, a chronon is the smallest, discrete, non-decomposable unit of time.
In a one-dimensional model, a chronon is a time interval or period, while in an n-dimensional model it is a non-decomposable region in n-dimensional time.[citation needed]
Early work
editWhile time is a continuous quantity in both standard quantum mechanics and general relativity, some physicists have suggested that a discrete model of time might work, especially when considering the combination of quantum mechanics with general relativity to produce a theory of quantum gravity.[citation needed]
The term was introduced in this sense by Robert Lévi in 1927.[1]
Notes
edit- ^ Lévi 1927
References
edit- Lévi, Robert (1927). "Théorie de l'action universelle et discontinue". Journal de Physique et le Radium. 8 (4): 182–198. doi:10.1051/jphysrad:0192700804018200. S2CID 96677036.
