this post was submitted on 08 Sep 2025

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Scientists just made the first time crystal you can see (www.colorado.edu)

submitted 1 week ago by Pro@mander.xyz to c/science@mander.xyz

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[–] SmoothOperator@lemmy.world 43 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Imagine a clock that doesn’t have electricity, but its hands and gears spin on their own for all eternity.

No, no, no, these crystals still need energy to move. They talk about "all you have to do is shine a light on it", yes, that adds energy.

Cool results, but yet another failure of science communication.

[–] Taco2112@lemmy.world 8 points 6 days ago (2 children)

Please forgive my ignorance but the quote you used suggests a clock running without electricity. The article never mentioned it running without an energy source.

I have a tenuous grasp of physics so you could definitely be correct. Can someone with more education on this topic answer if photons can act as an electric current in this experiment?

[–] SmoothOperator@lemmy.world 3 points 6 days ago

Sure, that makes sense, but it feels like they're implying "energy" when they say "electricity".

[–] thr0w4w4y2@sh.itjust.works 3 points 6 days ago

in the case of crystals, they vibrate at a fixed frequency and that’s how the clock is driven.