Woah—Physicists Just Built a Time Crystal Out of Styrofoam and Sound

Sometimes, even the simplest things can set off a quantum phenomenon.

With the flip of a switch, scientists harness light to program how particles interact and assemble

NYU scientists are using light to precisely control how tiny particles organize themselves into crystals. Their research, published in Chem, provides a simple and reversible method for forming ...
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Scientists spot 'time crystals' that appear to break Newton's rules

A team of New York University researchers announced in early February 2026 that they had created “levitating” time crystals, ...

A Flash of Light Can Build and Erase Crystals Instantly

Researchers at NYU have developed a way to use light to precisely direct how microscopic particles assemble into crystals. The findings, published today (February 24) in the Cell Press journal Chem, ...

Scientists Create “Levitating” Time Crystals That Defy the Rules of Physics

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.
EurekAlert!

Liquid crystals that mimic beetle shell coloration units used to create more secure type of QR code

A research group led by Dr. Jialei He of Nagoya University's Graduate School of Engineering has developed a method for processing cholesteric liquid crystals (CLCs) into micrometer-sized spherical ...