Scientists Created the First Ever Time Crystal

0:00Recently, scientists have created the first time crystal. It sounds like something straight out of science fiction, doesn't it? As if it's some kind of mysterious component for a time machine. But this isn't quite true. In reality, time crystals are more like a perpetual motion machine. But what exactly are they? And how do they work? Let's find out. First, let's talk about crystals in general. Take a regular crystal and examine it under a microscope. You'll see that it, like everything around us, consists of molecules and atoms. What makes them special is that their atoms are arranged in a repeating pattern. For example, let's take a salt crystal. If we look at it under a microscope, we'll see a repeating pattern inside it. And this pattern is the same everywhere. No matter how small or large the piece of salt is, or what shape it is. In the whole crystal, the pattern will be unchanged.

1:02And it will always remain like this, no matter how much time has passed. The salt crystal will still have the same repeating pattern of atoms tomorrow, next week, or even next year. Now let's move on to time crystals. They're just like regular ones, but with a twist. You probably know that all atoms around us are constantly moving, even at very, very low temperatures, when everything freezes, and nothing can stop them. Also, their movement is random, chaotic, and unpredictable, just kind of jiggling in space. However, in time crystals, everything is different. Not only are their atoms arranged in a repeating pattern, just like in regular crystals, but they also move in a looped, endlessly repeating dance. Now that's weird. The atoms in time crystals are like an endless looped dance party. All the guests repeat the same moves in the same order over and over again.

2:04This dance, or repeating pattern, can be completely different. The movements can be basic and simple, or very complex and chaotic, but they have to be looped. Hence the name, regular crystals repeat themselves endlessly in space, and time crystals repeat themselves in both space and time. Now, just to clarify, these crystals aren't the kind we're used to. They don't look like diamonds, or emeralds, or anything like that. To be honest, they don't look like much at all. The beautiful name Time Crystal describes a new, restrained kind of matter that changes in quantum states over a period of time. Basically, it's just the dance movements of atoms. So, unfortunately, you can't just put one on your shelf to jiggle there. It's not a beautiful piece of quartz, it's more like a curiosity in physics. But that doesn't mean that these crystals aren't cool.

3:06Actually, there's something very unusual and interesting about them. You see, the movements we talked about persist even at absolute zero temperature. That is, even when in normal materials and objects, atoms would freeze, lose energy and stop moving. In time crystals, they continue their endless dance as if nothing happened. Oh, and that's just the beginning. Scientists are also stunned because the existence of time crystals violates the second law of thermodynamics. This law states that over time, any system becomes random and disordered. A warm object will distribute its heat and become cold. A vase balancing on the edge of a table will fall one day, and so on. But time crystals are like, eh, we don't care about your thermos, something, something. Not only do they move constantly, in the same pattern, no matter what happens to them, but they also don't need any energy to do so.

4:09Even if they don't receive energy from anywhere, they don't stop dancing, and don't become less structured or organized. Yep, we've created a beautiful, incomprehensible miracle of nature that violates the laws of physics. Isn't that impressive? But how is this even possible? And why? Does it mean that there's nothing that can stop these atoms? And most importantly, could it be a clue for the secrets of the perpetual motion machine? Well, it's quite complicated. Once again, quantum mechanics is blowing up scientists' brains. This time, with another mystery, a unique and unusual behavior that we're still trying to understand. Since it's a relatively new area of research, we aren't yet sure exact work, and how we can use them. By the way, how did we even discover these guys? And how were they created? Time crystals were first predicted to exist in 2012 by theoretical physicist Frank Wilshek.

5:15Not all physicists accepted the theory at the time. Many believed it was impossible to violate the second law of thermodynamics, but the universe doesn't really care what scientists think, and Frank Wilshek won a Nobel Prize for his work. However, it took a few more years for scientists to actually create and observe the first time crystals. It happened in 2016, when scientists from the University of Maryland managed to create one using ions of the rare earth metal uterbeum. Here's what they did. First, they took a regular crystal and really, really cool down the atoms inside it, to near absolute zero. As already mentioned, absolute zero is the temperature at which atoms stop moving. So far, we don't know how to reach this temperature, but we can get very, very close to it. We can slow down the atoms so much that they almost stop. So they took all these atoms and made them move really slow. And then, they started shocking them with lasers.

6:18It made the atoms switch between different states over and over again, without absorbing any energy from the laser. You could say that the laser gave them a beat, and made them dance by themselves without one's help. The result was the first ever time crystal. The Maryland scientists' experiment was a major breakthrough, and showed that time crystals were a real observable phenomenon. It made quite a fuss in the scientific community, and was a huge step forward in the strange world of quantum mechanics. Unfortunately, there was one problem. Such perpetual motion only truly exists forever in ideal time crystals, and since the time crystals in our experiments weren't ideal, they lapped a few minutes before they melted, and started behaving normally again. What does it mean? It means that so far, unfortunately, we can't create a perpetual motion machine. If we try to do something like that, time crystals will immediately melt.

7:20But this didn't stop the scientists, and in 2021, we finally made another breakthrough. Researchers at Google, in collaboration with physicists at Stanford, Princeton, and other universities, used Google's quantum computer to much bigger and much more stable time crystal. You see, quantum computers are different from your typical laptop. They don't use regular bits, and don't work with silicon. Instead, they work with quantum bits that can exist in multiple states at the same time. This allows the time crystals to keep oscillating in a repeating pattern, even when all other motion has stopped. All the previous crystals were short-lived, made a couple of flip flops, and immediately melted. But now, scientists have created a crystal bigger and better than ever before. So, what does this mean for us? Well, time crystals could hold the key to unlocking new technologies and a deeper understanding

8:22of the quantum world. For starters, they'll help us better explore the world of quantum mechanics. They challenge our understanding of time and the way that matter behaves. In classical physics, things are either static or they're moving in a predictable repeating pattern. But time crystals don't care. They enjoy both static and moving at the same time. They can also help us create cool new technologies. They can bring us closer to creating full-fledged quantum computers. Engineers have struggled for years to create something that could serve as memory in quantum computers. And now they could use time crystals for that. Their repeating patterns of motion might be able to store information. Huh, isn't that awesome? We'll also be able to create many other cool things with them. For example, we could use their repetitive behavior to create a new kind of ultra-precise clock. USAA knows dynamic duos can save the day like superheroes and sideticks or auto and home insurance.

9:27With USAA, you can bundle your auto and home and save up to 10 percent. Tap the banner to learn more and get a quote at USAA.com slash bundle restrictions apply. Time crystals are still a relatively new area of research. Right now, we're mostly trying to understand their unique properties and characteristics. Scientists are also performing experiments to study their behavior under different conditions. For example, in different temperatures and magnetic fields. In other words, this field of research is still in its early stages. But time crystals are a truly mind-boggling discovery that shows just how strange and wonderful the universe can be. They're already attracting a great deal of interest and attention from scientists around the world. I can't wait to see how many exciting and groundbreaking discoveries will come from this area in the future. That's it for today. So, hey, if you've pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like and share it with your friends.

10:27Or if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the Bright Side.