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Physicists Propose "Perpetual Motion" Time Crystals

Posted by Unknown on from the four-harmonic-corner-days dept.

First time accepted submitter b30w0lf writes "It is commonly understood that crystals exist in a state of matter that is periodic in space. Meanwhile, relativistic physics tells us that we should think of time as being a physical dimension, given similar status to the other spacial dimensions. The combination of these two ideas has lead researchers at the University of Kentucky and MIT to propose special manifestations of matter which would be periodic in both space and time, dubbed 'time crystals.' Time crystals would continually transition between a set of physical states in a kind of perpetual motion. Note: the articles stress that this kind of perpetual motion in no way violates the established laws of thermodynamics. While time crystals remain theoretical, methods have been proposed for creating them. The most obvious application of time crystals is the creation of very precise clocks; however, other applications to time crystals have been proposed, ranging from quantum computing to helping us understand certain cosmological models."

18 of 153 comments (clear)

  1. Doc Brown had it all wrong... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    So it should have been flux time crystals, not the flux capacitor...

    Now, where's that Delorean???

    1. Re:Doc Brown had it all wrong... by dgatwood · · Score: 4, Funny

      Blasphemer! This new concept of zero is a heresy against Ra!

      Too soon?

      --

      Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.

  2. Time crysals. What Timecubes are made of by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    http://www.timecube.com/

  3. Seems reasonable by roidzrus · · Score: 4, Funny

    I'm pretty sure this is what the Power Rangers used to beat Lord Zedd.

  4. It'll make lots of sense by future+assassin · · Score: 4, Funny

    I'm sure when I re-read it after smoking a couple of joints.

    --
    by TheSpoom (715771) Uncaring Linux user here. I have nothing to add to this but please continue. *munches popcorn*
  5. They do not propose "Perpetual Motion" by KBentley57 · · Score: 5, Informative

    If one reads the article, in the last paragraph the statement occurs: "Time crystals may sound dangerously close to a perpetual motion machine, but it is worth emphasizing one key difference: while time crystals would indeed move periodically in an eternal loop, rotation occurs in the ground state, with no work being carried out nor any usable energy being extracted from the system." They aren't proposing "mechanical perpetual motion" like we are probably all thinking at first glance. The crystal isn't doing anything abnormal. No energy is to be gained from the system, so at least mechanically, nothing is happening.

    1. Re:They do not propose "Perpetual Motion" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

      Perpetual motion is one of Newton's Laws: an object in motion tends to stay in motion.

    2. Re:They do not propose "Perpetual Motion" by AK+Marc · · Score: 4, Insightful

      so at least mechanically, nothing is happening.

      It's like calling electrons around a proton a "perpetual motion machine". You get perpetual motion, so long as you don't extract energy from it. In fact, from that definition, the heat death of the universe is itself a perpetual motion machine, as everything will be vibrating/moving in entropy. No work may be extracted.

      --
      Learn to love Alaska
    3. Re:They do not propose "Perpetual Motion" by ceoyoyo · · Score: 3, Informative

      That is literally the meaning of perpetual motion. What they don't claim is free energy.

  6. Just one question: by Pluvius · · Score: 4, Funny

    Do these crystals have a cubic structure?

    Maybe we were all educated stupid after all...

    Rob

  7. Been there, done that by Voyager529 · · Score: 4, Funny

    It's where Krypton keeps their most dangerous criminals, duh!

  8. why stop at time crystals? by circletimessquare · · Score: 3, Funny

    why not build a time cube?

    i know of a distinguished scientist who has spoken at numerous universities, including MIT, on his groundbreaking work in this area:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_Cube#Public_reaction

    note: if you visit http://timecube.com/ for the first time in a decade, like i just did, you discover that gene ray has been experimenting with javascript, but i don't think he got the effect he was looking for. i think he is trying to profit from clicks, but i think he mangled the code and you get a page redirect whenever you try to load his site. i guess deep knowledge of time cubez does not translate into mad html skillz

    --
    intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
  9. You can't read it (without other power) by Sarusa · · Score: 3, Informative

    One key point that makes it not a free energy machine is that you can't actually read it or otherwise do anything useful with it (nor can it do anything) without spending extra external energy.

    And in any normal situation, like sitting in a room on Earth, you might even have to spend energy keeping it undisturbed by things like thermal jostling (i.e., cooled to near absolute zero).

    1. Re:You can't read it (without other power) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      One key point that makes it not a free energy machine is that you can't actually read it or otherwise do anything useful with it (nor can it do anything) without spending extra external energy.

      Well, even if you can't, I think it would be cool if you routed your car's power through a perpetual motion machine, just to say one was involved.

  10. Re:It's like Seinfeld. by JustOK · · Score: 5, Funny

    call it the Sien field

    --
    rewriting history since 2109
  11. Re:commonly understood by lennier · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It is commonly understood that crystals exist in a state of matter that is periodic in space.

    If your Bullshit Detector didn't go off as soon you read this in the original post

    Mine didn't. Does yours need calibration?

    A crystal structure is composed of a pattern, a set of atoms arranged in a particular way, and a lattice exhibiting long-range order and symmetry. Patterns are located upon the points of a lattice, which is an array of points repeating periodically in three dimensions.

    Periodicity is a well-defined concept.

    --
    You are not a brain: http://books.google.com/books?id=2oV61CeDx-YC
  12. Re:Attention Radical Free Software Leftists! by GoogleShill · · Score: 4, Insightful
    What he's saying is accurate. States which typically vote Republican are the states which contribute the least in Federal taxes, but receive the most in Federal aid.

    http://taxfoundation.org/blog/why-do-some-states-feast-federal-spending-not-others

    As for your disillusioned Obama comment... He wants to make people pay their fair share of taxes while Romney wants the middle class to "distribute" their wealth up the chain so it lands in some dudes bank account, not helping the economy at all. Spending money helps the economy, hoarding it doesn't.

  13. Re:time is not a dimension by UnknownSoldier · · Score: 3, Informative

    Links please!

    Conversely, for those interested in the other half of the equation -- namely understanding the spatial dimension -- a new paradigm such as bivectors, trivectors, antiscalar, wedge product is necessary.

    A Bigger Mathematical Picture for Computer Graphics (Eric Lengyel)
    http://www.terathon.com/wscg12_lengyel.pdf

    A Unified Language for Mathematics and Physics
    http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.134.6311&rep=rep1&type=pdf

    Clifford Algebra and the Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics
    http://www.montgomerycollege.edu/Departments/planet/planet/Numerical_Relativity/Geometric_Algebra/caiqm.pdf

    The Unified Family of all physical quantities
    http://www.naturics.eu/?page_id=1068