Recently for the first time, isolated groups of particles acting like bizarre states of matter recognized as time crystals have been correlated into a single, developing system that could be extremely useful in quantum computing.
Time crystals were officially discovered and verified a few years ago, in 2016. They were once believed to be physically impossible. They are a matter stage identical to normal crystals but with one additional, peculiar, and very special property.
In time crystals, the atoms function differently, and they display patterns of action in time that cannot be deciphered by an external push or shove. These fluctuations, commonly known as ‘ticking,’ are plugged to a regular and specific frequency.
Theoretically, time crystals tick at their softest possible energy state, termed the ground state, and are thus durable and coherent over extended periods. So, where the configuration of regular crystals duplicates in space, in time, crystals it rehearses in space and time, thus displaying perpetual ground state motion.
“Everybody knows that perpetual motion machines are impossible,” says physicist and lead author Samuli Autti of Lancaster University in the UK.
“However, in quantum physics perpetual motion is okay as long as we keep our eyes closed. By sneaking through this crack we can make time crystals.”