Zhao & Smalyukh / Nature Materials
Time crystal developed in the boulder ass, seen to the microscope.
“Everything is born out of nowhere. Just light the light.” This is not the first time a time crystal is created, but this is the first version that can be observed directly, which paves the way to various technological applications.
Imagine a clock without electricitywhose pointers and gears rotate alone for all eternity.
In a recent study, physicists at the University of Colorado, in Boulder (whose boulder), used liquid crystalsthe same materials present in mobile phone screens to create something very close to this concept.
The result of the, published on Thursday in Nature Materialsis a new example of “cristal temporal”, A curious phase of the matter in which its constituents, such as atoms or particles, remain in constant movement.
This is not the first time a crystal of time is created, but this is the first version that can be observed directlywhich paves the way to various technological applications.
“They can be seen to the microscope and even, under special conditions, to the naked eye,” he explained Hanqing Zhao, Researcher of the Department of Physics at Cu Boulder and first author of the study at the University.
In the experience, researchers created glass cells full of liquid crystals – a stick -shaped molecules that partially behave as solids and partially as liquids.
In certain circumstances, when illuminated, these crystals begin to spin and move according to standards that repeat in time.
To the microscope, these liquid crystals remember Tiger psychadel lists and get Keep the movement for hourslike a clock in eternal rotation.
“Everything is born out of nowhere. Just light the light And this world of temporal crystals arises, ”says the physics teacher IVAN SMALYUKHresearcher at Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute (Rasei) and the main author of the study.
Crystals in space and time
The idea of time crystals, proposed in 2012 by the Physics Nobel Frank Wilczekthey can sound science fictionbut they are inspired by the crystals that exist in nature, such as diamond or salt.
Traditional crystals can be understood as “spatial crystals”: Carbon atoms on a diamond, for example, are organized into a hard-to-break solid grid.
Wilczek wondered if it would be possible to create A similar structurebut organized in time instead of spacethe. In this state, even at rest, atoms would not become static; moving cyclicallylike an animated image that repeats itself infinitely.
Although the original concept has been revealed impossible to realizeIn recent years scientists have managed to get close.
In 2021, a team turned to Google’s Quantum Sycamore computer to create a Special Network of Atoms that, when stimulated with laser, presentedBroadcasts repeatedly without account.
In the new study, Zhao and Smalyukh tried to achieve the same effect with liquid crystals. According to Smalyukh, when applying pressure to these molecules, they are so strong that create folds or “twists”, that can move and behave as atomic particles.
“These twists do not disappear easily. They act as particles and begin to interact with each other, ”explains the researcher.
The team placed the solution of liquid crystals between two glass blades coated with dyes. Without stimulus, the system remained almost motionless. But when illuminated with a certain type of light, the dyes changed orientation and bought the liquid crystals.
In this process, Thousands of new twists were formedwho interacted in complex patterns, remembering pairs of dancers in a ball of a romance of Jane Austen: come together, separate, rotate and start again.
These temporal standards REvened difficult to destroyEven after making the temperature vary, the movement persisted. “This is the beauty of this temporal crystal”Smalyukh underlined.” Relatively simple conditions are created, light is lighting and the phenomenon happens. “
These temporal crystals can have several Practical Applications. Could, for example, be used in bank notes to make it difficult for falsifications:It would be enough to illuminate the “temporal brand” to reveal the pattern.
By overlapping different temporal crystals, it would be possible to generate even more complex patterns and even store huge amounts of digital information.
“We do not want to set limits to applications at this time. There are opportunities for Bring this technology in multiple directions“Concludes Smalyukh.
