A team of physicists from Yale University has proved that even a child can be engaged in the synthesis of the mysterious "time crystals" discovered by the Nobel laureate!
In 2012, Nobel Prize Laureate in Physics Frank Wilczek proposed the existence of a new type of crystal. Although most crystals have a structure that repeats itself in two or three dimensions, Wilczek introduced the concept of a crystal that repeats its structure four times: three of them correspond to the dimensions of space, and the fourth to the dimension of time. He called this hypothetical structure a "crystal of time", and only last year scientists managed to figure out how to synthesize them in the laboratory.
Time crystals
Recently published studies have shown that the notorious crystals of time exist not only as a product of scientists' laboratory activities. It turned out that similar structures can also form in the natural environment, while the process itself is much simpler than experts imagined. This is a great success for humanity: Wilczek's crystals can be used for practical purposes, for example, to create ultra-precise atomic clocks, new generation gyroscopes and other devices.
Time crystals exhibit very strange activity when exposed to electromagnetic waves. In such a crystal, all the molecules rotate in a certain direction, and with each new EM pulse it changes. But even if the impulses are unsystematic, the direction of rotation still changes at regular intervals, due to which the time crystals can be used as a measure of time intervals, that is, as a universal clock.
Even a child can do it
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Last year, researchers figured out how to create these crystals in a laboratory using a rather sophisticated technique that involves pinpointing a set of ytterbium atoms with lasers. However, new work by physicists from Yale University has proven that synthesizing time crystals is so easy that a child can literally do it. They found that temporary crystals are formed inside ordinary crystals of mono-ammonium phosphate, which is often used in "young chemist" kits and other educational toys, thanks to which you can grow a beautiful crystal at home. In theory, each such structure can contain Wilczek crystals. Sean Barrett, author of the study, notes that physicists can only benefit from this, since the cheaper and simpler the process, the easier it is to study it. Now they have to understand in all details the mechanism of synthesis of time crystals and determine how exactly they can be used for the benefit of technological progress.
Vasily Makarov
