Time Crystals...The Entrance To The 4th Dimension
An EcoChi Vital Abstract
This article was published in the November 2019 issue of Scientific American by Frank Wilczek. Frank Wilczek is a theoretical physicist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He won the 2004 Nobel Prize in Physics.
People have found crystals fascinating and attractive since before the dawn of modern science, often prizing them as jewels. In the 19th century scientists' quest to classify forms of crystals and understand their effect on light catalyzed important progress in mathematics and physics. Then, in the 20th century, study of the fundamental quantum mechanics of electrons in crystals led directly to modern semiconductor electronics and eventually to smartphones and the Internet. The next step in our understanding of crystals is occurring now, thanks to a principle that arose from Albert Einstein's relativity theory: space and time are intimately connected and ultimately on the same footing. Thus, it is natural to wonder whether any objects display properties in time that are analogous to the properties of ordinary crystals in space. In exploring that question, we discovered “time crystals.” This new concept, along with the growing class of novel materials that fit within it, has led to exciting insights about physics, as well as the potential for novel applications, including clocks more accurate than any that exist now. Before I fully explain this new idea, I must clarify what, exactly, a crystal is. The most fruitful answer for scientific purposes brings in two profound concepts: symmetry and spontaneous symmetry breaking. In common usage, “symmetry” very broadly indicates balance, harmony or even justice. In physics and mathematics, the meaning is more precise. We say that an object is symmetric or has symmetry if there are transformations that could change it but do not. Ultimately, of course, no ordinary state of matter can maintain itself against all disruptions. Consider, for example, diamonds. A legendary ad campaign popularized the slogan “a diamond is forever.” But in the right atmosphere, if the temperature is hot enough, a diamond will burn into inglorious ash. “New” time crystals arrived with the March 9, 2017, issue of Nature, which featured gorgeous (metaphorical) time crystals on the cover and announced, “Time crystals: First observations of exotic new state of matter.” What discoveries will emerge as we study how time crystals modify the behavior of electrons and light moving within them? Some cosmologists have also suggested that ours is a cyclic universe or that the universe went through a phase of rapid oscillation. These speculations—which, to date, remain just that—bring us close to the circle of ideas around time crystals. Ultimately the concept of time crystals offers a chance for progress both theoretically—in terms of understanding cosmology and black holes from another perspective—and practically. The novel forms of time crystals most likely to be revealed in the coming years should move us closer to more perfect clocks, and they may turn out to have other useful properties. In any case, they are simply interesting, and offer us opportunities to expand our ideas about how matter can be organized.
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