Show HN: Does Information Density Cause Time Dilation?
10 points - 12/24/2025
Full Paper (Zenodo):
https://zenodo.org/records/18027729
Help Needed:
I am looking for feedback on the experimental setup.
The main engineering challenge is maintaining GHZ coherence long enough to isolate the effect from environmental noise.
If you have
Hi HN. Standard General Relativity posits that time dilation is caused solely by mass-energy. But what happens when information entropy reaches a critical density?
I have released Version 2.0 of my paper, proposing the Information-Induced Time Dilation (ITD) hypothesis.
The Hypothesis:
I propose that local information entropy (\Delta S_{info}) acts as a "computational load" on the spacetime metric. Just as mass curves spacetime, extreme information density might "lag" the local clock.
The Experiment (Strictly Falsifiable):
To test this, I designed a differential measurement using Sr-87 optical lattice clocks (Section 6):
Compare: A system in a GHZ Entangled State (High Info) vs. a Product State (Low Info). Control: Mass and energy are kept identical. Prediction: If my derivation is correct (\alpha \neq 0), the entangled sector will show a frequency redshift relative to the control group.
expertise in quantum metrology, I would deeply appreciate your technical insights.
(Optional) Request for ArXiv Endorsement:
Endorsement Code: E3Y83D (physics.gen-ph)
It would be nice to see an estimate for the order of magnitude of the effect.
As is, I’m skeptical the clocks would be able to measure it. Just a bachelors degree in physics though, so I’m not an expert.
Thanks for the sharp question. You hit the core challenge.
I am targeting a sensitivity of 10^{-18} seconds, which is within the range of modern Sr-87 optical lattice clocks (current stability \approx 10^{-19}).
While the effect of information density (\Delta S_{info}) is expected to be extremely subtle compared to mass (G), the differential measurement (Entangled vs. Non-entangled) allows me to filter out common-mode noise. Even if I get a null result, establishing an upper bound on the coupling constant \alpha would be a significant contribution.
I'm putting my bet on the high complexity of the GHZ state.
Why do you talk like an LLM
Fair question.
English isn’t my first language, and I’m an independent researcher.
I supplied the core intuition and overall architecture, and used an LLM as a research assistant for formal derivations and calculations.
Think of it as a human architect using modern tools to draft blueprints.
Interesting topic to see on HN. However, I’m not sure lots of people here will be able to help you. I think literature search and direct emails to relevant authors would be more fruitful.
Valid point. I'm reaching out to academia too. I posted here because my theory treats spacetime as a computational substrate, and HN has the best mix of physicists and engineers to critique that specific angle.
Sounds like you should apply for a grant.
My hunch is you need very high information density to work, like the information density around the event horizon of a black hole.
Spot on. An Event Horizon indeed represents the theoretical limit of information density (the Bekenstein bound).
Since I can't create one in the lab, I'm betting on GHZ states to generate a steep enough local information gradient to yield a measurable effect. It's a scale-down, but unlike a black hole, we can test it today.
there's no such thing as information.
Landauer demonstrated that erasing a bit releases heat. If information is fiction, implies that energy is fiction too?
I think their point was that there is no empirical definition of information as it relates to the observer. The expurimint you cite worked upon a physical system that already had a state prior to the expurimint.
If everything is information, then nothing is.
A disordered system still has state. You just don't know what it is.
Fair point on the semantics. But I'm not talking about subjective 'knowledge.' I'm talking about the thermodynamic cost to maintain a state.
Landauer showed that information processing is physical (heat). I’m just extending that logic: if the universe has to process too much state data in one spot, the cost isn't just heat—it's lag (Time Dilation).
It doesn't matter if we observe the mess; the system still has to render it.