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Yale physicists have uncovered hints of a time crystal — a form of matter that “ticks” when exposed to an electromagnetic pulse — in the last place they expected: a crystal you might find in a child’s toy.
The discovery means there are now new puzzles to solve, in terms of how time crystals form in the first place.
Ordinary crystals such as salt or quartz are examples of three-dimensional, ordered spatial crystals. Their atoms are arranged in a repeating system, something scientists have known for a century.
Time crystals, first identified in 2016, are different. Their atoms spin periodically, first in one direction and then in another, as a pulsating force is used to flip them. That’s the “ticking.” In addition, the ticking in a time crystal is locked at a particular frequency, even when the pulse flips are imperfect.
Scientists say that understanding time crystals may lead to improvements in atomic clocks, gyroscopes, and magnetometers, as well as aid in building potential quantum technologies. The U.S. Department of Defense recently announced a program to fund more research into time crystal systems.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by bzipitidoo on Saturday May 05 2018, @12:12PM (3 children)
One of the annoying necessities to get research finding for what should be basic science is that the military value of it has to be played up so funding can be obtained under a defense program. This approach comes with perils of its own, with one of the biggest being that the military boys are apt to bury everything in secrecy, to keep the knowledge gained from being shared with enemies.
(Score: 2) by linkdude64 on Saturday May 05 2018, @12:50PM (1 child)
I suppose it's annoying for a few years until it's convenient for the rest of human existence - microwave ovens, aerosol paints, jet engines, rocket science, etc.
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 05 2018, @11:35PM
It would be even more convenient if we stopped wasting so much money on wars. All of those things could have been invented in other ways.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Saturday May 05 2018, @01:10PM
This complaint comes up a lot but the summary here doesn't state "They could have defense applications" but "The U.S. Department of Defense recently announced a program to fund more research into time crystal systems" which is just factual.
And they do have obvious defense applications, because if they can improve atomic clocks, they could be used in an upcoming generation of GPS satellites.
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