Draft of project 1

What in the World are Time Crystals and do They Break Physics?

“I was thinking about the classification of crystals, and then it just occurred to me that it’s natural to think about space and time together, so if you think about crystals in space, it’s very natural also to think about the classification of crystalline behavior in time.”

-Frank Wilczek

Time crystals are a theoretical atomic structure of matter first proposed by Nobel laureate and MIT physics professor, Frank Wilczek.  At the simplest level, the structure would be a crystal that has a regular structure across both space and time.  Such a structure could possibly oscillate continuously without external input.  This idea and it’s troubling implications have generated quite a bit of interest.

Cateb, Mauro Lapidated Quartz Obelisk 3, 2011 via Wikimedia

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What is a Time Crystal?

To answer this it is better to start with a simpler question.  What is a crystal?  One phrase you’ll find in most answers to that question is “regularly repeating structure”.  A crystal has a repeating structure that propagates across the space it occupies.  A time crystal would theoretically extend this property over time as well.

From our point of view, moving along time normally, the structure would be a submicroscopic oscillating crystal.  The effect would be similar to looking at consecutive slices of a normal crystal as a slideshow.

How would this break physics?

The existence of an object that continuously oscillates without consuming energy conflicts with the principles of thermodynamics.  Simply put, a time crystal would be a perpetual motion machine.  The crystal could even conceivably act as a clock that could survive the heat death of the universe.

The problems with the theory.

A theoretical physicist by the name of Patrick Bruno has contested the theory of time crystals.  He points out that such structures would only be significant if they were the lowest energy or ground state of the system.  

Bruno went on to show that a model Wilczek had made to demonstrate the concept was not in fact in a ground state and would therefore expend energy and decompose.  Wilczek and his supporters responded by pointing out that disproving the specific model didn’t disprove the basis for the idea.

Ultimately the final test for this concept will be experimentation.  Until a laboratory manages to create or disprove the crystal, the debate will continue.

The Future.

An experiment is being prepared to attempt to create a time crystal at UC Berkeley.  This experiment will likely prove extremely difficult at the very least.  If successful it could shed light on the strange possibility of the time crystal.

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The Document

    Any comments about what if anything you find interesting about this story would be appreciated.  I don't know what part of this I should focus on.