Quantum Time Ticks: Irreversible Transformation and the Margolus-Levitin Bound

We present a unified framework in which time emerges not as a continuous background parameter,but as a discrete consequence of irreversible quantum transformations. Each decoherenceevent—corresponding to the loss of one bit of quantum information—defines a temporal tick. Weconnect this physical progression of time to the Margolus-Levitin bound, which limits the rate oforthogonal transformations in unitary systems. We argue that while Margolus-Levitin defines thetheoretical minimum time for quantum evolution, decoherence-induced bit loss marks the actual,physical advancement of time.