How to Stabilize the Unstable: The Formula of Hidden Phases express
Imagine a slide with three dips: the deepest one is a stable position for a ball, the middle one is precarious. A slight push and the ball rolls down. Yet, constant vibration of the right strength can hold it in the middle hollow for a long time.
In the 1950s, physicists Lee and Yang discovered that all states of matter are separated by invisible points in the world of imaginary numbers. These points, called Lee-Yang zeros, outline the phases. Stable phases are tucked far away, while shaky (metastable) ones creep up to the real axis. Research has shown: vibration shifts these zeros, and the shaky state becomes stable. The stronger the forcing, the more real the hidden phase becomes.
Terahertz light pulses act like that very 'shaking', only electromagnetic. By controlling light, we can program material properties. The most surprising part: the distance from a Lee-Yang zero to the real axis precisely determines the required vibration intensity. Entropy of the system behaves like a coordinate on an imaginary map, and spectroscopy becomes a control panel.
Supercooled water in clouds can stay liquid even at –40°C until it meets a dust particle or a shock wave.
In Peter Watts' novel 'Blindsight', the characters encounter metastable states of consciousness — almost like a shaky phase of matter.