Solid, Liquid, Gas, and now “Time”.
(click above to see the motion)
Using a scanning transmission X-ray microscope, scientists have recorded the oscillations of a time crystal for the first time (what you’re seeing here). Time crystals are symmetrical in both space and time and do not consume any energy while in perpetual motion.
One could also argue this is a form of perpetual motion as well.
Perpetual motion is easy. An object in motion will continue moving indefinitely unless acted upon by a force, for example something moving through the vacuum of deep space.
A perpetual motion machine is another matter. That’s a system whose moving parts can do work indefinitely. But time crystals cannot do work, so they are not perpetual motion machines.
< nitpick>
This would be a sixth state of matter. Plasma and Bose-Einstein Condensate are the fourth and fifth.
< /nitpick>
That said, that meme is hilarious, so I move that we let it go this time. Do I have a second?
I feel like I’m traveling through time already!
You are! The catch is you’re traveling at a fixed rate in one direction only. Takes a lot of the fun out of it, really.
Good ol’ 1 second per second.
Though sometimes meetings, classes, or church services can slow that down to 0.5 sec/sec.
