Scientists first observed the interaction of time crystals

"Time Crystal" - sounds like some kind of accessory from a sci-fi movie, but in fact it really existing strange phases of matter that break the symmetry of the transformation of the structure of time itself.

But before it was considered simply impossible. So, research groups around the world are now engaged in the study of time crystals, and one of the groups was the first to observe the interaction of such crystals.

What is a time crystal

To begin with, at least in general terms, we will find out what a time crystal is. So, if we look at ordinary crystals, they are determined by highly ordered atomic structures - in a sense, the atoms of ordinary crystals are repeated in space.

But in 2012 F. Wilczek (Nobel laureate) put forward an extremely interesting theory: "Could there be crystals that repeat themselves in time?"

Many engineering groups around the world began to develop this idea, and in 2016, a time crystal was first obtained in the laboratory.

The main feature of such crystals is that they have an unexplained ability completely copy the movement in time even in the case when there is no external impact.

To understand, imagine a plate of jelly. So if you touch it, then it is quite logical that it will fluctuate for some time, and then these fluctuations will completely disappear.

Now let's imagine that this is jelly - our crystal of time. By touching it, you will not see the instantly started vibrations, they will begin after a while.

Then they will calm down completely, and after (what is most striking) the oscillations will begin again without any external influence, and at the same time they will oscillate for an unlimited amount of time.

How the time crystals were made to interact

The very fact of the discovery of time crystals did not calm the scientists, and they began to further investigate this unique phenomenon and wanted to observe how the time crystals would interact with each other.

So the first interaction was accomplished by the joint efforts of engineers from Yale University and Royal Holloway.

For this, helium-3 was taken and cooled to a temperature of -273.15 degrees Celsius (this is slightly above absolute zero). Then, in a special installation, temporary crystals were formed from cooled helium-3 and the scientists allowed their contact.

Then scientists began to observe how these crystals move particles back and forth into each other and thus create an alternating pattern. This was a clear sign of a phenomenon called the Josephson effect.

Where Time Crystals Can Be Used

As S. Outti, the controlled interaction of two time crystals is a critical breakthrough. After all, no one in the world has done this before.

This discovery will bring humanity closer to creating a full-fledged quantum computer. After all, controlled interaction is the first desire of any engineer who dreams of using such crystals in quantum information processing.

As you know, so far the main snag in the creation of quantum computers lies in the fact that it is extremely difficult to store information in a consistent and processed form for a long time.

But time crystals cope with this task just playfully. In addition, they (crystals) can also be used in such devices that are responsible for recording time and other systems.

The results of the research of scientists can be found on the pages of the journal Nature Materials.

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