Scientists find a place where time moves backward

Key Points:

• Physicists from Durban University of Technology and the University of KwaZulu-Natal discovered through mathematical modeling that inside collapsing neutron stars, time appears to run backward due to decreasing entropy, contrary to everyday experience.
• This reversal occurs because gravitational entropy, which compacts matter, dominates over the usual entropy that drives disorder and forward time progression, highlighting the unique physics within neutron stars.
• Neutron stars, remnants of massive dead stars, exhibit extreme densities and unstable energy states during collapse, making them behave more like black holes and providing a natural laboratory for studying unusual spacetime behaviors.
• The findings have implications for understanding the arrow of time and the universe's entropy since the Big Bang, suggesting some regions or processes might reverse entropy to maintain cosmic balance.
• The researchers view their work as a step toward unraveling the cosmic arrow-of-time mystery, contributing valuable insights into how gravity and spacetime curvature influence temporal direction.