Time Crystals

In conventional science, crystals exhibit properties of infinitely tessellating patterns of particles, forming lattice looking frameworks such as diamonds. Similarly yet different, time crystals exhibit properties of patterns infinitely with relation to “time”, first theorised by Frank Wilczek as a new type of matter. As time infinitely continues, time crystals would maintain their motion periodically resisting any change in energy and entropy in desired conditions and repeat such phases forever. 

Breaking Time-Translation Symmetry (Continuous) 

A key property of time crystals derives by its violation to basic concepts of Continuous Time translation symmetry. Time translation symmetry refers to the conservation of laws of physics under a transformation of time. For example, dropping a soccer ball to the ground right now should theoretically produce the same results when you reperformed it 3 years before or after. Notably, the physics that applied in this experiment should always conserve and not get affected by time. Conversely, a time crystal essentially re-performs a motion in intervals of time, starting from its initial state (ground state), undergoing some motion and repeating from its ground state infinitely. With specific motions in intervals of time, the motion right now of a time crystal may not be the same motion it is 3 years before or after, thereby breaking continuous time-translation symmetries. Additionally, the periodic motion of time crystal does not require additional energy to be introduced, instead spontaneously repeats its motion. 

Maintenance of Entropy and Energy

Due to time crystals periodic motion, conventional understandings of energy and entropy transformations through time fails to apply as well. Energy within time crystals still abides with the law of thermodynamics, which the total energy of the system maintains conserved, yet the motion performed by the crystals does not include kinetic energy, nor any representation of energy due to its quantum properties. Additionally the entropy of the system maintains constant due to its periodic motion, without decreasing or increasing in disorder.

Reference list

Choi, C.Q. (2021). What’s a Time Crystal? [online] IEEE Spectrum. Available at: https://spectrum.ieee.org/qa-creating-time-crystals-using-quantum-computers.

Kubota, T. (2021). Time crystal in a quantum computer. [online] news.stanford.edu. Available at: https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2021/11/time-crystal-quantum-computer.

Metcalfe, Tom (2022). What are time crystals? And why are they so weird? [online] NBC News. Available at: https://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/time-crystals-rcna37654.

Sutter, LiveScience, P. (2022). Physicists Link Two Time Crystals in Seemingly Impossible Experiment. [online] Scientific American. Available at: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/physicists-link-two-time-crystals-in-seemingly-impossible-experiment/.