Scientists discovered crystals that defy physics, and we don’t know what to believe anymore
Today in your daily dose of science, scientists discovered crystals that defy physics. Prepare to have your mind blown, because we have no idea what to believe now. We know that most people probably aren’t keeping up with the daily scientific breakthroughs. Lucky for you, we’ve done it for you…sort of.
Scientists recently discovered “time crystals,” which are a new form of matter that seem to play by their own rules.
They defy basic physics, and are making scientists rethink how they view the world.
According to Uproxx, it’s best to think about time crystals like we think about Newton’s third law. The third law states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. For example, if you lift one end of the ball on Newton’s cradle (see below), then the other ball (on the opposite side) will fly up.
The same can be said for the time crystal, but with a little added force. The publication explained that if you were to lift up one ball (with the crystal) then two balls fly up on the other side. This is all due to the “spin.”
"Particles have an innate quantum mechanical property called 'spin' related to magnetism, which in the case of these crystals, has two different values," two different groups reported in the Nature journal via Gizmodo. "The values all align, and swap back and forth at the time crystal’s preferred tempo."
In all particles including matter, the “spin” can be reversed or flow normally. In the case of these new time crystals, when you give those particles small amounts of energy, they actually match each other on spin and – here’s the crazy part – then change it into their own time frame.
They basically do their own thing when you use them or put them into motion. Time crystals kind of twist Newton’s third law. They bend the rule that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Crazy, right?
While this sounds like a lot of tech and science talk, it does mean one easy thing.
"It shows that the richness of the phases of matter is even broader [than we thought]," physicist, Norman Yao, from the University of California Berkley, told Gizmodo. "One of the holy grails in physics is understanding what types of matter can exist in nature."
By discovering the time crystals, it proves that there are most likely more undiscovered forms of matter. This alone, is really exciting. Who know what else is out there!
