Physicians develop a new type of time crystal that humans can actually see

Imagine a watch that has no electricity, but his hands and gears roam forever. In a new study, physicists of the University of Colorado Bolder have used liquid crystals, the same material that is in your phone display, so that such a watch can be created – or at least, as much as humans can achieve. The team’s development is a new example of “time crystal”. It is the name of a curious phase of the material, such as pieces, such as atoms or other particles, in constant motion.

Researchers are not the first crystal maker of time, but their creation is the first that a person can really see, which can open a large number of technical applications.

“They can be seen directly under a microscope and even under certain terms, under a microscope,” said Hanqing Zhao, a central author and a graduate student in the CU -Bolder’s Department of Physics.

Professor of Physics and colleague of the Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute (RASII), he and the House Smalliak published their searches in the journal on September 4. Materials of nature.

In the study, researchers designed glass cells filled with liquid crystal-in this case, stick-shaped molecules that behave as slightly solid and slightly like liquid. In certain situations, if you shed light on them, the liquid crystals will start to rotate, and you will follow the samples that have been over time.

Under a microscope, these liquid crystal samples are similar to the psychidic tiger stripes, and they can keep running for hours.

“Not everything was born of anything,” said Smalliak. “You all shine a light, and this whole world of crystal of time emerges.”

Xiao and Smalliak are members of the International Institute for Sustainability with Graduated Cherry MetaMat (WPI-SKCM2) with the headquarters at Hiroshima University in Japan, an international institute that is an international institute with missions and a part of the international institute.

Crystals in space and time

Time crystal science may look like something beyond fiction, but they reap naturally found crystals, such as diamonds or table salts.

Nobel laureate Frank Willesk first proposed the idea of ​​Time Crystal in 2012. You can think of the traditional crystal as a “space crystal”. Carbon atoms that make a diamond, for example, create a fake pattern in space that is very difficult to break.

Willesk wondered if it would be possible to create a crystal in addition to the time rather than the place, rather than the place. Even in their comfort, in such a state, a nuclear fake model will not be made, but will never move or change in an endless cycle-such as a GIF that stands forever.

It has been impossible to make the real concept of Wilzic, but since then, scientists have prepared the stages of material that are reasonably closer.

In 2021, for example, physicists used Google’s psychiatrist quantum computer to create a special network of atoms. When the team gave these atoms a flicker with a laser beam, there was a fluctuation among them, which repeated several times.

Dancing crystal

In the new research, Xiao and Samlik came out to see if they could achieve similar feat with liquid crystals.

Samalich explained that if you squeeze these molecules properly, they would be together so firmly that they make the concrete. It is noteworthy that this kinks are around around around around around around around around around around around around around around around around around around around the side, there Can rotate around.

“You have these turns, and you can’t easily remove them.” “They behave like particles and start interacting with each other.”

In the current study, a solution of liquid crystal between two pieces of glass and Xiao was coated with dye molecules. On its own, these samples were mostly silent. But when the group hit them with a certain kind of light, the dye molecules changed their direction and squeezed the liquid crystal. In this process, thousands of new kinship were created suddenly.

These Kinks also began to interact with each other after incredibly complex measures. Think about a room full of dancers in the Jane Austin novel. The couples are broken, revolve around the room, come back together, and again work again. It was unusually difficult to break the samples of time – researchers can increase or reduce their sample temperature without interrupting the movement of liquid crystals.

“This is the beauty of the crystal at that time,” said Samlik. “You just create some conditions that are not special to it. You shine light, and all work is done.”

Xiao and Samlik say there can be many use of crystals at that time. Governments, for example, can add these content to the bills to make them difficult to make fake. By stacking several different time crystals, the group can create and even create complex samples, which can potentially allow engineers to store a large amount of digital data.

“We do not want to keep any limit on requests right now,” said Samalich. “I think there are opportunities to move this technology in all kinds of directions.”