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I'm not a PhD in physics (my interest in quasi-crystals stem from having to consider their existence and their energies in some simulations), but I wouldn't thi

I'm not a PhD in physics (my interest in quasi-crystals stem from having to consider their existence and their energies in some simulations), but I wouldn't think so. Not stable, anyway. Mathematically, yes, but atoms are on a discreet lattice locations. If you used time for the fourth dimension, you'd have to jump in time discreetly. That's kinda weird because where would the energy go? A photon? Then how do you recapture the energy? Do you "borrow" the energy (exploiting some uncertainty principle)? These are all high energy processes -> not a crystal (crystals are low energy states).

xkcd-sucks 7y ago
>but atoms are on a discreet lattice locations This is where it starts getting interesting. Where is the "location" of an atom? Is it the nucleus? Is it the electrons? Is it just the electrons which are localized to particular nuclei? Etc. Typically the "location" has some uncertainty, both from thermal jitter and from the nature of orbitals as probability densities.
willis936 7y ago
I’m no expert in this field either, but perhaps on sufficiently small time and size scales the discrete jumps in space and time would line up. It might be that for fermion matter it isn’t possible. I know incredibly little about more exotic matter, but I think I may have heard of theoretical crystals formed in non fermion matter in violent celestial scenarios. I’d be interested to see a simulation that’s able to make a time crystal that can have symmetry between spatial and time dimensions, even if the physics are tuned for them rather than our universe. Just to see what it would look like. I’d take any new imagery to aid in understanding solid state physics.