Imagine a clock that defies the conventional need for electricity or mechanical input, a clock whose hands and gears spin endlessly, powered not by batteries or wind but by the very fabric of time itself. This may sound like a concept pulled from the pages of science fiction, but researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder have taken a significant stride toward realizing such a marvel through the creation of a new kind of “time crystal.” Their groundbreaking work employs liquid crystals, the same substances found in everyday phone displays, to manifest a dynamic phase of matter that exists in continuous motion, revealing a mesmerizing new frontier in condensed matter physics.
Time crystals represent a radical departure from traditional states of matter: instead of particles settling into fixed positions within space, they exhibit periodic motion that repeats indefinitely in the temporal dimension. While physicists have previously engineered time crystals at the quantum scale, often in complex and inaccessible setups, the team at CU Boulder has achieved a form that can be observed directly under an ordinary microscope—and, under certain conditions, even with the naked eye. This achievement opens doors to unimagined applications, ranging from ultra-secure authentication measures to advanced data storage technologies.
The pioneering research, led by graduate student Hanqing Zhao and Professor Ivan Smalyukh, was published in the prestigious journal Nature Materials in early September 2025. By employing rod-shaped liquid crystal molecules confined within glass cells, the team induced strikingly persistent motion patterns through carefully controlled illumination. These molecules are unique in that they straddle the boundary between solid and liquid states, exhibiting both fluidity and ordering. When exposed to tailored light sources, the liquid crystals spontaneously organize into elaborate, time-evolving patterns resembling psychedelic tiger stripes, maintaining these dynamic configurations for hours without external energy input.
Central to this phenomenon is the formation of “kinks,” localized distortions in the molecular arrangement that analogously behave like particles. Under light exposure, dye molecules coating the glass exert mechanical forces on the rods, causing these kinks to form, move, and interact in complex ways. This particle-like behavior prompts the liquid crystals to dance in meticulously choreographed sequences, reminiscent of a ballroom filled with partners constantly breaking apart and rejoining. Remarkably, these patterns demonstrate robustness: varying environmental parameters such as temperature does little to disrupt their persistent temporal order, reflecting an intrinsic stability characteristic of genuine time crystals.
The inspiration for this research traces back to Nobel laureate Frank Wilczek’s visionary proposal in 2012, suggesting the existence of time crystals as a novel phase of matter breaking temporal symmetry. Unlike conventional spatial crystals—atomic lattices whose periodicity in space lends them unique properties—a time crystal’s periodicity resides in time, with its constituent particles oscillating perpetually without energy consumption. Although Wilczek’s initial conceptualization faced technical limitations, incremental progress over the years has led to artificial systems that approximate this behavior at ever more accessible scales.
Notably, in 2021, a team of physicists employed Google’s Sycamore quantum processor to create a network of atoms exhibiting time-crystalline features through repeated laser-induced fluctuations. The CU Boulder group’s innovation stands apart by harnessing classical liquid crystals, making direct observation feasible and simplifying experimental setups significantly. This represents a crucial milestone in transitioning the elusive promise of time crystals from abstract quantum phenomena toward practical, tangible technologies.
The experimental setup devised by Zhao and Smalyukh involves sandwiching a solution of liquid crystals between two glass plates, each coated with specific dye molecules that respond dynamically to light. When illuminated, these dyes undergo molecular reorientation, imposing physical constraints on the liquid crystal matrix, which in turn triggers the spontaneous emergence of the aforementioned kinks. The motion of these kinks transcends mere translation; they interact and evolve in a synergistic ballet, generating a temporally repeating pattern that defies traditional equilibrium constraints.
From a technical perspective, these topological solitons—stable, knot-like configurations within the liquid crystal field—act as discrete, quasi-particle entities whose interactions give rise to collective behavior. This particle-like approach allows an intuitive understanding of complex temporal ordering grounded in classical physics, bridging the previously challenging gap between quantum time crystals and macroscopic observable effects. These findings suggest that the interplay between light-induced forces and intrinsic molecular elasticity can stabilize motion perpetually, opening a doorway to a new class of active matter systems.
The potential applications of such time crystals are vast and varied. For instance, embedding these materials into currency could revolutionize anti-counterfeiting technologies. Unlike traditional watermarks or holograms, the light-activated, time-evolving pattern of a “time watermark” would be extraordinarily difficult to replicate, providing a visually striking and scientifically sophisticated method to verify authenticity. Furthermore, stacking layers of diverse time crystals could enable encoding vast amounts of information in both spatial and temporal domains, paving the way for unprecedented advances in data storage and encryption.
Crucially, the apparent simplicity of generating these time crystals—merely by illuminating the system with a specific light wavelength under modest conditions—highlights the accessibility and scalability of this approach. The researchers emphasize that no extreme environments or exotic materials are necessary; instead, the phenomenon emerges naturally from the inherent properties of liquid crystals when coupled with optically responsive dyes. This ease of generation fosters optimism for rapid prototyping and integration into existing technological frameworks.
Beyond technological implications, this discovery enriches fundamental physics by providing a tangible manifestation of time-translation symmetry breaking in a classical system. The notion that matter can maintain a non-equilibrium steady state with periodic temporal behavior challenges long-held assumptions and will likely inspire new theoretical models and experimental investigations. It highlights the profound interconnectedness of topology, soft matter physics, and non-equilibrium dynamics, encouraging cross-disciplinary research collaborations worldwide.
Zhao and Smalyukh are affiliated with the International Institute for Sustainability with Knotted Chiral Meta Matter (WPI-SKCM2) headquartered at Hiroshima University in Japan, an international hub dedicated to exploring artificial matter and sustainable material science. Their collaborative effort exemplifies the increasingly global nature of cutting-edge research, blending expertise across continents to explore the unexplored realms of space-time physics.
Looking ahead, the discovery of visible time crystals marks the beginning of an exciting journey. As researchers refine control mechanisms, explore new materials, and delve deeper into the underlying mechanics, the scientific community anticipates an era where temporal patterns become as manipulable and integral to technology as spatial structures are today. The age of dancing, ticking time crystals is dawning—inviting us to rethink the dimensions in which matter can organize itself and harness the enigmatic pulse of time itself.
Subject of Research: Time Crystals and Dynamic Phases of Matter Using Liquid Crystals
Article Title: Space-time crystals from particle-like topological solitons
News Publication Date: September 4, 2025
Web References:
– https://www.colorado.edu/physics
– https://www.colorado.edu/rasei/
– https://wpi-skcm2.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/
– https://www.nature.com/articles/s41563-025-02344-1
– https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.160401
– https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2021/11/time-crystal-quantum-computer
Image Credits: Zhao & Smalyukh, 2025, Nature Materials
Keywords
Time crystals, liquid crystals, topological solitons, non-equilibrium physics, temporal symmetry breaking, dynamic matter phases, optically induced patterns, soft condensed matter, anti-counterfeiting technology, data storage innovation, particle-like excitations, spatiotemporal order
