Physicists for the first time created a time crystal that can be seen with the naked eye (video)
Physicists have for the first time created a time crystal that can be seen with the naked eye — it glows with neon stripes. The structure of this material may pave the way for new technological solutions, including improved anti-counterfeiting methods, random number generators, two-dimensional barcodes, and optical devices. reports Science Alert.
Time crystals are a relatively new phenomenon, but their existence was predicted back in 2012 by the American theoretical physicist Frank Wilczek. At first, the idea was met with skepticism, because, as some scientists believed, it contradicted the laws of physics and could violate one of the main rules of thermodynamics.
In 2016, a group of American researchers first reported observing time crystals during experiments. By comparison, ordinary crystals—such as diamond, quartz, or salt—are three-dimensional atomic lattices of particles that repeat in space, like a geometric grid of atoms at nodes. In other words, any section of such a lattice can be superimposed on another, and they will coincide.
The time crystal is a pattern of particles in the time dimension. Its peculiarity is that it repeats not only in space, but also in time: the particles oscillate in a certain rhythm that is imposed on itself. These fluctuations break the symmetry of time, acting independently of the external rhythms of the environment, which looks like a challenge to established laws.
Such crystals are of great interest for the study of quantum processes, as well as for practical applications. Scientists are actively studying their properties, trying to understand what exactly makes them work.
Potential uses include the creation of new optical devices, space-time photonic crystal generators, the development of telecommunications and anti-counterfeiting systems. This opens up the prospect of the emergence of completely new technological directions on the border of physics of time and space.
