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Time Crystals Can Now Be Seen Directly
Research physicists at University of Colorado Boulder have a “time crystal.” That’s the name for a curious phase of matter in which the pieces, such as atoms or other particles, exist in constant motion.
The researchers aren’t the first to make a time crystal, but their creation is the first that humans can actually see, which could open a host of technological applications.“They can be observed directly under a microscope and even, under special conditions, by the naked eye,” said Hanqing Zhao, lead author of the study and a graduate student in the Department of Physics at CU Boulder.
He and Ivan Smalyukh, professor of physics and fellow with the Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute (RASEI), published their findings Sept. 4 in the journal "Nature Materials."
In the study, the researchers designed glass cells filled with liquid crystals—in this case, rod-shaped molecules that behave a little like a solid and a little like a liquid. Under special circumstances, if you shine a light on them, the liquid crystals will begin to swirl and move, following patterns that repeat over time.
As far as I know, the first use of the phrase "time crystal" is in Rocketeers at Bay, a 1952 short story by N.K. Heming:
He sent his thought to a copper lever and moved it until there was the sound of air hissing into the little room. He rose then and stood upright, stepped to the ground. For a moment he looked sombrely on the crystal of the time casket before crossing to the chair of thought. As he sat in it a panel in the opposite wall slid open and a pearly eye of light winked out at him. The thoughts of the robot were warm and welcoming as they reached out to him."You have stopped the machinery, Zandlor," the man sent on waves of pure thought.
"The Master Media have broken their sleep of suspended animation. It is as you thought when you constructed the time crystal, my master Vaylan," the robot replied. "They did not die."
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