Wednesday, November 26, 2025

Time Crystals For Sale


Maybe I should stop posting about time crystals. 
(I will never understand time crystals)

Physicists investigate dynamic phenomena of a time crystal
Apr 2025, phys.org

The crystal, made of indium gallium arsenide, was continuously illuminated with a laser during the initial experiment. This interaction caused a nuclear spin polarization, which in turn spontaneously generated oscillations, embodying the essence of a time crystal through periodic behavior under constant excitation. Then they illuminated the semiconductor periodically instead of continuously, while also varying the frequency of the periodic drive. The observed behavior of the time crystal, its frequency response, ranged from perfect synchronization to chaotic dynamics.

Synchronization occurs only at specific fractions of the system's natural frequency. These fractions, in order of appearance with increasing drive frequency, correspond to the "Farey tree sequence," a well-known hierarchical structure implemented in a crystal for the first time.

If the driving frequency is varied further, the end of the synchronization range is reached. Here, each frequency component splits into at least two branches that are symmetrical to the synchronization frequency. These frequency branches connect the synchronization plateaus and together form a kind of staircase, known in the literature as "the devil's staircase," indicating a path either upwards or downwards.

Note: The Devil's Staircase is ... sorry, can't figure that out either. The internet is broken, sure, but this is one of those things that's referred to by everyone, but never actually described by anyone. So basically the people who need to know what it is, already know what it is. Something to do with phase transitions of different materials put together.

via TU Dortmund University: Alex Greilich et al, Exploring nonlinear dynamics in periodically driven time crystal from synchronization to chaotic motion, Nature Communications (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-58400-6


Physicists create a new kind of time crystal that humans can actually see
Sep 2025, phys.org

via University of Colorado at Boulder Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute, and WPI-SKCM2 International Institute for Sustainability with Knotted Chiral Meta Matter at Hiroshima University: Hanqing Zhao et al, Space-time crystals from particle-like topological solitons, Nature Materials (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41563-025-02344-1


Quantum clocks deliver navigation accuracy far beyond current GPS systems in naval tests
Jul 2025, phys.org

"Outperforms GPS navigation systems by many orders of magnitude"

The clocks designed by the team rely on sealed cells containing a low-pressure gas of atoms (rubidium). These cells are then interrogated with lasers at specific colors, and the information extracted is used to steer the laser wavelength to the atom—providing stability.

Both clocks are optical atomic clocks, using sealed cells containing a low-pressure gas of the elements rubidium and ytterbium.

via University of Adelaide Institute of Photonics and Advanced Sensing, (Austrialian) Defense Science and Technology Group, Quantx Labs: A. P. Hilton et al, Demonstration of a mobile optical clock ensemble at sea, Nature Communications (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-61140-2


New theory proposes time has three dimensions, with space as a secondary effect
Jun 2025, phys.org

This is not exactly related to the "Kletetschka's 3-D Time Theory"

If you could step onto that sideways path and remain in the same moment of "regular time," you might find that things could be slightly different—perhaps a different version of the same day. Moving along this perpendicular second path could let you explore different outcomes of that day without going backward or forward in time as we know it.

The existence of those different outcomes is the second dimension of time. The means to transition from one outcome to another is the third dimension.

Oh but wait, wow - we get a revised editor's note, something I do not see often while perusing phys.org (actually I've never seen this before)

Publishing in Reports in Advances of Physical Sciences (World Scientific Publishing), while a legitimate step, is not sufficient for a theory making such bold claims. This journal is relatively low-impact and niche, and its peer review does not match the rigorous scrutiny applied by top-tier journals like Physical Review Letters or Nature Physics. For a paradigm-shifting idea to gain acceptance, it must withstand critical evaluation by the wider physics community, be published in highly regarded journals, and provide reproducible predictions that align with existing evidence—standards this work has not yet met. (Andrew Zinn, editor at ScienceX which contains phys.org)

via University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute: Gunther Kletetschka, Three-Dimensional Time: A Mathematical Framework for Fundamental Physics, Reports in Advances of Physical Sciences (2025). DOI: 10.1142/S2424942425500045


World's most precise clock achieves 19-decimal accuracy with aluminum ion technology
Jul 2025, phys.org

The most accurate clock ever. For now!

via National Institute of Standards and Technology: Mason C. Marshall et al, High-Stability Single-Ion Clock with 5.5×10−19 Systematic Uncertainty, Physical Review Letters (2025). DOI: 10.1103/hb3c-dk28

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