How to prove a file was edited yesterday—by capturing the heat that was never supposed to exist, then rewinding the universe for 3.2 microseconds

1. The alibi is thermodynamics

• 12 Dec 2025: $7 B IP theft from cryo-cooled data vault (0.05 K).
• Attacker’s story: “file never existed”—vault log shows zero access.
• Forensic twist: time-crystal entropy tag (TET) reveals heat burst at 0.12 K—impossible without bit flip.
  Charge sheet: “violation of the third law of thermodynamics” – first felony under Physics Integrity Act (PIA-2025).

2. Evidence = heat that shouldn’t exist

• Zero-point energy at 0.05 K allows no thermal excitation.
• Single-bit flip releases 3.2 × 10⁻²¹ J → 0.12 K spike – smoking gun.
• Spike decays in 3.2 µs – faster than any thermometer.
  Forensic mission: capture, time-stamp and quantifynon-existent heat.

3. Architecture: “Time-Crystal Morgue”

4. Time-crystal entropy tag (TET) – the heat that remembers

• Time-crystal (Yb²⁺BaF₂) oscillates forever at 1.3 GHz – no energy input.
• Bit flip perturbs oscillation phase → phase shift ∝ entropy released.
• Phase read-out = irreversible proof of bit activity – impossible to spoof.

5. Entangled calorimeter (EC) – heat without temperature

• Entangled photon pair generated at 10 mK; one stays, other absorbs heat phonon.
• Collapse probability ∝ phonon energy → direct entropy measurement – no Kelvin scale needed.
• Quantum hash of collapse = fingerprint of femto-joule event.

6. Optical delay line – rewinding the universe

• Photon storing heat signature travels 1 km fibre → 5 µs delay.
• Hash computed during delay → evidence sealed before decay completes.
• Universe effectively rewound 3.2 µs – enough to catch the culprit.

7. Field test: cryo-vault heist (Zurich)
   Timeline (UTC):
   03:00 Vault at 0.05 K – TET baseline
   03:14 Attacker’s quantum gate flips 128-bit key → 0.12 K spike
   03:14:00.1 SQUID detects femto-volt pulse → TET phase shift
   03:14:00.2 Entangled calorimetercollapses → hash sealed
   03:14:00.3 Optical delay ends → titanium print created
   03:14:01 Vault log still shows zero access – thermodynamics disagrees
   Day 1 $7 B decryption key recovered; attacker pleads via entropy evidence
8. KPIs that keep quantum-physicists confident

9. 60-day cryo-forensic deployment

Week 0-2: Crystal

• Grow Yb²⁺BaF₂ time-crystal; verify 1.3 GHz oscillation.
• Calibrate SQUID at 10 mK.

Week 3-4: Entropy

• Integrate entangled calorimeter; verify femto-J sensitivity.
• Test optical delay at 1 km.

Week 5-6: Delay

• Run controlled bit-flip; capture TET + EC hash.
• Validate titanium print vs. entropy value.

Week 7-8: Legal

• Produce entropy + crystal + delay bundle.
• External quantum-physics expert attests PIA compliance.

10. Cost & ROI (cryo-data centre, $50 B assets)

11. Exit criteria (screenshot for quantum underwriter)

✅ Entropy detection ≤10⁻²¹ J proven over 50 flips
✅ Time-crystal phase ≤0.1 rad accuracy certified
✅ Photon delay ≤0.1 ns jitter validated
✅ Court admissibility opinion signed under PIA-2025 §9
✅ $7 B asset recovery confirmed by insurer

12. Final absolute-zero thought
    When the crime is colder than absolute zero and the evidence is heat that never existed, the only reliable witness is the hash that was entangled with the phonon itself. Cool the crystal once—and let the universe forget; your proof is already printed in titanium—and on the docket.