Chronon

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

While 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]

See also

• Theoretical physics