Summary
Scientists at New York University have discovered a new kind of "time crystal" that challenges Newton's Third Law of Motion. These time crystals are made of styrofoam beads that levitate in the air using sound waves. This breakthrough could lead to new uses in technology, like data storage and advanced computing.
Key Facts
- Time crystals are a type of crystal that repeats its pattern over time instead of space.
- NYU researchers created time crystals using styrofoam beads and sound waves.
- The beads levitate between two speaker arrays, which are six inches apart.
- Sound waves help the beads float by creating a standing wave field.
- Larger beads influence smaller beads more due to the way they scatter sound.
- These interactions do not follow Newton's Third Law because the forces are unbalanced.
- This discovery might help understand biological rhythms like those governing our internal clocks.
