Visible Time Crystal Created by Scientists
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Headline: Eternal Motion: CU Boulder Physicists Create Visible ‘Time Crystals’ That Dance Under Light
Subheadline: imagine a clock that never stops, powered only by light. That’s the promise of a groundbreaking finding that could revolutionize technology.
Have you ever wondered if it’s possible to create something that moves forever, without needing batteries or winding? A team of physicists at the University of Colorado Boulder has taken a giant leap toward that dream, creating the first “time crystal” that’s visible to the human eye.
Forget science fiction – this is real science, and it’s happening right here in Colorado. These aren’t your grandma’s crystals; they’re a new phase of matter where the individual pieces are in constant, repeating motion. Think of it like a tiny, perpetual dance.
“Everything is born out of nothing,” explains Ivan Smalyukh, a professor of physics at CU Boulder. “All you do is shine a light, and this whole world of time crystals emerges.”
So, what exactly is a time crystal?
To understand, let’s start with something familiar: a regular crystal, like a diamond. The atoms in a diamond are arranged in a rigid, repeating pattern in space. A time crystal, on the other hand, is organized in time. Its components are constantly moving and changing in a repeating cycle, like a GIF that loops endlessly.
While the idea of time crystals has been around for a while (Nobel laureate Frank Wilczek first proposed it in 2012), creating one that we can actually see is a game-changer.
How did they do it?
Hanqing Zhao, a graduate student at CU Boulder, and Professor Smalyukh used liquid crystals – the same materials found in your phone screen. They placed these crystals in glass cells and, when they shined a light on them, something amazing happened.
The liquid crystals began to swirl and move, forming patterns that repeated over and over again. Under a microscope, these patterns look like psychedelic tiger stripes, and they can keep moving for hours.
“They can be observed directly under a microscope and even, under special conditions, by the naked eye,” said Zhao.
Think of it like a room full of dancers in a Jane Austen novel, explained Smalyukh. Pairs break apart, spin around the room, come back together, and do it all over again.
Why does this matter?
The implications of this discovery are huge. Because the patterns in time were unusually hard to break, the researchers could raise or lower the temperature of their samples without disrupting the movement of the liquid crystals.
Zhao and Smalyukh, who are members of the International Institute for Sustainability with Knotted Chiral Meta Matter, believe that time crystals could have several uses. Governments could,for