New Form of Matter Created

Scientists at the University of Texas at Austin have created a new form of matter. They call this new form of matter "Time Crystals."

Crystals are molecules that have their atoms arranged in a 3-D shape with a repeating pattern. Therefore, salt, snow, and diamonds are all crystals. So what makes this new "Time Crystal" different? Well this time crystal  never settles down into what's known as thermal equilibrium, a state in which they all have the same amount of heat. This is a groundbreaking discovery and creation.  This was done by Andrew Potter and his team of researchers. Potter is an assistant professor at the University of Texas at Austin. Potter and his team were able to apply just the right electrical field. Then, he and his researchers levitated 10 of these crystal ions above a surface. Next, they used a laser pulse to cause the atoms to flip around. Then they lasered them a multitude of times in a regular rhythm. That set up a pattern of flips that repeated in time.

This is an important discovery because if these can be created efficiently, they will help to make enormous strides in quantum physics as well as computers, as noted by Potter. "This opens the door to a whole new world of nonequilibrium phases. We've taken these theoretical ideas that we've been poking around for the last couple of years and actually built it in the laboratory. Hopefully, this is just the first example of these, with many more to come." (Potter)

Peyton Phillips
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/03/170308131228.htm