Laws of Physics bent: Time Crystals “Impossible” but Obey Quantum Physics
Time crystals were long considered impractical because their continuous movement would seem to challenge the laws of physics. Utilizing quantum physics, scientists have developed time crystals and now proved that they can power helpful tools in the future.
Researchers have produced the first “time-crystal” two-body system in an experiment that seems to bend the laws of physics.
This happened after the same team lately experienced the first interaction of the new stage of matter.
The laws of physics and time crystals
Time crystals were for a long time believed to be impossible because they come from atoms in never-ending motion. The discovery, released on June 2, 2022, in the journal Nature Communications, shows that not simply can time crystals be developed, but they have the potential to become valuable devices.
Time crystals are distinct from a standard crystal, like metals or rocks, which is made of atoms arranged in a frequently repeating pattern precede.
Theorized in 2012 by Nobel Laureate Frank Wilczek and identified in 2016, time crystals display the peculiar feature of being in constant, repeating motion in time despite no external input. Their atoms are frequently oscillating, rotating, or moving initially in one direction and, after that, the other.
EPSRC Fellow Dr. Samuli Autti, the lead author from Lancaster University’s Department of Physics, explained: “Everybody knows that endless movement devices are impossible. In quantum physics, perpetual movement is okay as long as we shut our eyes. By sneaking through this crack, we can make time crystals.“
Result of the crystal junction
“It happens that putting both of them together functions beautifully, even if time crystals should not exist in the first place. Moreover, we already know they also exist at room temperature.”
A “two-level system” is a fundamental foundation of a quantum computer. Time crystals can be utilized to develop quantum tools that function at room temperature.
A worldwide team of scientists from Lancaster University, Royal Holloway London, Landau Institute, and Aalto University in Helsinki observed time crystals by utilizing Helium-3, a rare isotope of helium with one missing neutron. The experiment was performed at Aalto University.
They cooled superfluid helium-3 to about one ten thousandths of a degree from absolute zero (0.0001 K or -273.15°C). The researchers produced two time crystals inside the superfluid and brought them to touch. As explained by quantum physics, the scientists then viewed both time crystals interacting.
Read the original article on scitechdaily.
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