Physicists at Washington University in St. Louis have created a new type of time crystal called a “quasicrystal,” which is an entirely new state of matter. Unlike traditional time crystals that vibrate at the same frequency, quasicrystals can vibrate at multiple frequencies simultaneously.
This discovery has significant implications for future applications, including sensors and instruments that measure multiple frequencies at once. The potential benefits include developing clocks that never need winding and smartphones that will never die.
Time crystals are dynamic structures composed of atoms that rearrange themselves in different patterns and repeat those patterns, causing them to vibrate. However, conventional time crystals have a predictable pattern of vibrations due to their stable quantum states. Quasicrystals, on the other hand, lack this predictability, meaning there’s no repetition in their vibrational patterns.
To create quasicrystals, scientists used microwave pulses to excite particles and form new crystal structures. The team successfully created quasicrystals by zapping a tiny diamond with a microwave laser, allowing electrons to move into the empty spaces and initiate quantum interactions.
While standard time crystals last around 40 minutes, achieving this duration for quasicrystals is still an ongoing challenge. However, if successful, it could enable the development of highly sensitive instruments that harness the unique properties of quasicrystals. These include sensors, watches, electronics, and quantum computers, which could potentially be powered by a never-ending energy source.
The discovery of quasicrystals bridges the gap between spatial and temporal quasicrystals, offering a new paradigm for studying intricate symmetry-breaking phenomena in time.
Source: https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a64231309/scientists-create-new-state-of-matter-that-defies-time