A time crystal is an exotic, out-of-equilibrium state of matter that oscillates between different configurations. The first time crystals, created in 2016, were “discrete,” a type that requires a periodic “kick” to maintain their disequilibrium. This reliance on an already-periodic signal makes discrete time crystals redundant as clocks. But researchers subsequently demonstrated “continuous” time crystals, which oscillate despite being driven by an aperiodic energy flow such as a thermal gradient or a constant beam of light. Now Ludmila Viotti from the International Centre of Theoretical Physics in Italy and colleagues have explored the timekeeping potential of such time crystals [1].
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