Recently a group of American physicists were able to construct a so-called "crystal-time" - structure, the possibility of the existence of which had been predicted long ago. The peculiarity of the crystal is the ability periodically become asymmetric not only in space but also in time. Therefore, it is possible to make high-precision chronometer.

The crystals are generally quite paradoxical education. Take their relationship with symmetry: as we know, by itself, crystal, judging by his appearance, can be considered as just a sample of the spatial symmetry. However, the process of crystallization is nothing like her willful breach.

This is very well illustrated by the example of the formation of crystals in solution, for example, some salt. If we analyze this process from the very beginning, it will be seen that the solution particles are randomly, and the whole system is at a minimum energy level. However, the interaction between particles symmetric with respect to rotations and translations. However, once the fluid is crystallized, there is a state in which both the symmetry is broken.

Thus, we can conclude that the interaction between particles in the resulting crystal is not symmetrical. This implies a number of important properties of crystals - for example, these structures, in contrast to the liquid or gas, different conduct electricity or heat in different directions (may conduct to the North and to the South is not). In physics, this property is called anisotropy. This crystalline anisotropy has long been used by the person in a variety of industries, for example, in electronics.

Another interesting property of crystals is that he, as a system, is always on the minimum energy level. What is most interesting, it is much lower than, for example, in a solution that generated" crystal. We can say that in order to get the data structure, you "away" energy from the source of the substrate.

So, in the formation of the crystal is the lower energy levels of the system and the breakdown of the initial spatial symmetry. Not so long ago two physics from the United States, al Sapir and Frank Wilczek (by the way, the Nobel laureate), wondered whether the existence of so-called "four-dimensional" crystal, where the symmetry violation would occur not only in space but also in time.

Using complex mathematical calculations, scientists were able to prove that it is quite possible. The result was a system that's as real crystal, at a minimum energy level. But the most interesting is that it is due to the formation of certain periodic structures are not in space, but in time come to the unbalanced end state. The authors called this system is very solemnly - "crystal-time".

After a while the group of physicists-experimenters, headed by Professor Zhang Xiang from the University of California (USA) decided to create such a system is already not on paper but in reality. Scientists have created a cloud of beryllium ions, then "locked" it in a circular electromagnetic field. Because the electrostatic repulsion equally charged ions from each other makes them distributed around the circle evenly, researchers, in fact, received gaseous crystal. And while field characteristics remain constant, the state of the system, in theory, should be changed.

At the same time, calculations, and then and observations showed that this is the ion ring is not fixed. Gaseous crystal constantly rotated, and interactions of ions with the symmetric, then no. All this was observed even when the crystal cooled to almost absolute zero. Thus, this structure really is "crystal-time": it shows the features of the periodicity and asymmetry in space and in time.

Interestingly, slowly rotating ring ions constructed by the group of Professor Zhang has caused many non-specialists Association with the eternal engine. Of course, gas crystal look like perpetum mobile, but actually is not. This system may not do any work, as all its components are on the same energy level (minimum). And according to the second law of thermodynamics, work is possible only in that system, the components of which are at least two energy levels.

At the same time, this does not mean that "crystal-time" cannot be used for practical purposes. Professor Zhang convinced that on its basis can be constructed, for example, high-precision chronometer. After all, the transition from symmetry to asymmetry has a pronounced periodicity. Meanwhile, Professor and his colleagues want to do a more detailed study of the properties they have created a wonderful patterns...


Anton Evseev