New York Scientists Successfully Suspended Time Crystals in Air
Physics experts at New York University have made a new and remarkable discovery regarding the theory of time crystals. Zamin.uz reported on this.
They succeeded in creating an extremely unique form of matter whose particles are stable and perform repetitive motion. The prestigious scientific journal Physical Review Letters provided detailed information on this.
Compared to previous studies, the main difference of the new system is that it operates at a macroscopic level, meaning it can be observed with the naked eye. Furthermore, this unique system is suspended in air using sound waves.
Time crystals are special structures whose particles move in constantly repeating cycles even without the influence of external forces. Although they were first proven theoretically ten years ago and subsequently confirmed through experiments, to date they are considered promising tools for quantum computing and data storage.
During the new research, scientists utilized the method of acoustic levitation. In their experiment, small polystyrene spheres were suspended in air using standing sound waves.
These spheres began to interact with each other through sound vibrations. Mia Morrell, a graduate student at New York University, emphasized that sound waves affect particles in exactly the same way that waves on a water surface move a leaf.
By placing particles in a standing wave field, the possibility arises to suspend them in air against gravity. In this system, the interaction between particles is unusual because larger spheres emit more sound, while smaller ones are affected more strongly.
As a result, asymmetric interaction emerges. This asymmetry makes the system appear to violate Newton's third law, although in reality it only seems so superficially.
The interactions are unbalanced, ensuring the self-sustained oscillations of particles and resulting in the formation of time crystals. The head of the research, physics professor David Grier, paid special attention to the simplicity of the new system.
According to him, although time crystals may seem exotic and complex, the system they created is remarkably unique due to its extreme simplicity. This discovery may open up new opportunities in the fields of physics and technology in the future.
