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Physicists have filmed the oscillation of a time crystal

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Re: Physicists have filmed the oscillation of a time crystal

#51

Post by 7800 »

dekhn wrote: post #47
yccs27 wrote: post #25

Since the article doesn't do a good job of explaining what a time crystal is , here's my attempt at summarizing the Wikipedia article [0]. Normally, a system which is driven by an external frequency oscillates at the same, or a multiple of the driving frequency. This is because the external conditions are symmetric under a time translation (i.e. a delay) by the period duration. This symmetry is normally preserved by…

When I hear "time crystal", I think "the wielder of this object can travel through time, or at least do something far out, like see past events", not "a crystal that when vibrated breaks symmetry".

And whenever I hear time crystal, I think of bad sci-fantasy 80s movies.

“Mondor, you must grab the time crystal before the second moon equinox, or the Flarborg will be released from their electronic pen and ravage us like they’ve never ravaged before!”

“Oh. Well, we wouldn’t want that would we?”

Re: Physicists have filmed the oscillation of a time crystal

#52

Post by marricks »

allemagne wrote: post #24

>"Now, if crystals can interact not only in space but also in time, we add another dimension of possible applications. The potential for communication, radar or imaging technology is huge." Could anyone expand on this in an accessible way? What kinds of changes could we see in imaging or communication technology?

I do not look forward to seeing how the US defense industry eventually utilizes this technology.

Re: Physicists have filmed the oscillation of a time crystal

#53

Post by p1mrx »

dekhn wrote: post #47
yccs27 wrote: post #25

Since the article doesn't do a good job of explaining what a time crystal is , here's my attempt at summarizing the Wikipedia article [0]. Normally, a system which is driven by an external frequency oscillates at the same, or a multiple of the driving frequency. This is because the external conditions are symmetric under a time translation (i.e. a delay) by the period duration. This symmetry is normally preserved by…

When I hear "time crystal", I think "the wielder of this object can travel through time, or at least do something far out, like see past events", not "a crystal that when vibrated breaks symmetry".

Oh, but you can see past events while wielding (or not wielding) a time crystal.

Vision is far out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjHJ7FmV0M4

Re: Physicists have filmed the oscillation of a time crystal

#54

Post by whatshisface »

mwilcox wrote: post #33
yccs27 wrote: post #25

Since the article doesn't do a good job of explaining what a time crystal is , here's my attempt at summarizing the Wikipedia article [0]. Normally, a system which is driven by an external frequency oscillates at the same, or a multiple of the driving frequency. This is because the external conditions are symmetric under a time translation (i.e. a delay) by the period duration. This symmetry is normally preserved by…

I would say that gravitational waves break the idea that empty space is symmetrical

Gravitational waves have momentum, energy and even mass, so I wouldn't call a box full of them empty.

Re: Physicists have filmed the oscillation of a time crystal

#55

Post by amelius »

dekhn wrote: post #47
yccs27 wrote: post #25

Since the article doesn't do a good job of explaining what a time crystal is , here's my attempt at summarizing the Wikipedia article [0]. Normally, a system which is driven by an external frequency oscillates at the same, or a multiple of the driving frequency. This is because the external conditions are symmetric under a time translation (i.e. a delay) by the period duration. This symmetry is normally preserved by…

When I hear "time crystal", I think "the wielder of this object can travel through time, or at least do something far out, like see past events", not "a crystal that when vibrated breaks symmetry".

I think of quartz crystals, used to measure time.

Re: Physicists have filmed the oscillation of a time crystal

#56

Post by nom »

dekhn wrote: post #47
yccs27 wrote: post #25

Since the article doesn't do a good job of explaining what a time crystal is , here's my attempt at summarizing the Wikipedia article [0]. Normally, a system which is driven by an external frequency oscillates at the same, or a multiple of the driving frequency. This is because the external conditions are symmetric under a time translation (i.e. a delay) by the period duration. This symmetry is normally preserved by…

When I hear "time crystal", I think "the wielder of this object can travel through time, or at least do something far out, like see past events", not "a crystal that when vibrated breaks symmetry".

Maybe they can. Who knows what strange realms of physics this research leads us to.

Re: Physicists have filmed the oscillation of a time crystal

#58

Post by yesenadam »

nabla9 wrote: post #5
tait wrote: post #2

Does anybody else agree the name "Time Crystal" could be better somehow?

No. It's technically very accurate name. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_crystal

(Not an expert) I read the first few paragraphs on that link. So, by analogy, we might call (normal) crystals with flaws "space crystals". Or maybe they should be "space-flawed crystals" and "time-flawed crystals" - a "flaw", in the usual sense, being a break in the regular crystalline structure. The adjective describes the (nature of the) breakdown in regular structure, not the regular structure. No? I wouldn't defend "space crystal" as a "technically very accurate name".
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