8legs: Physical review letters

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1d ago

This floating time crystal breaks Newton’s third law of motion

Researchers at New York University created a nonreciprocal time crystal using sound waves to levitate beads in mid-air.
The beads exchange sound waves in a way that appears to break Newton’s Third Law, producing a nonreciprocal interaction.
The device is compact, about one foot tall, and the effect is visible to the naked eye.
The study, published in Physical Review Letters, links the time crystal to potential advances in quantum computing and data storage.
The research may help illuminate biological timing systems, such as circadian rhythms.
The beads used are small styrofoam beads moved by standing sound waves in an acoustic levitator.
Larger beads produce stronger forces, creating imbalanced interactions that drive the system’s rhythm.
The work was supported by National Science Foundation grants DMR-21043837 and DMR-2428983.
The scientists describe the system as simple yet revealing complex physics with broad implications.
The findings appear in Physical Review Letters and may influence future quantum technologies and data storage solutions.

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