Very simplified toy models help scientists get started, but the real world is far more complex.

Physicists at NYU have discovered a new type of time crystal—an exotic state of matter whose particles rhythmically “tick” while levitating on sound waves.

“Our system is remarkable because it’s incredibly simple,” said paper author and physicist David Grier of New York University.

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Time crystals oscillate in predictable patterns across time, similar to how normal crystals repeat in atomic structure. A type of ...

Acoustic tweezers use sound waves to create a potential-energy well that can hold an object in place – they are the acoustic ...

A time crystal as seen under a microscope. A time crystal is a form of matter that shows continuous, repeating patterns over time, much like how atoms in a normal crystal repeat in space. Examples ...

"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." Here’s what you’ll learn when you read this story: First theorized in 2012, time crystals are similar to ...

EurekAlert!—In a new study, physicists at the University of Colorado Boulder have used liquid crystals, the same materials that are in your phone display, to create such a clock—or, at least, as close ...

Time crystals, a collection of particles that "tick"—or move back and forth in repeating cycles—were first theorized and then ...

Once considered an oddity of quantum physics, time crystals could be a good building block for accurate clocks and sensors, ...

Time crystals oscillate in predictable patterns across time, similar to how normal crystals repeat in atomic structure. A type of time crystal known as a continuous time crystal (CTC) resembles ...