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Scientists Discover Way to Send Information into Black Holes Without Using Energy

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Scientists Capture First-Ever Evidence of Atoms Reverse Their Spin in Real Time

A new breakthrough in quantum physics has revealed something that sounds almost impossible: atoms inside a crystal can briefly “spin backward” when energy moves through them. Scientists have directly observed angular momentum—the property responsible for rotation—traveling through a crystal lattice, and in the process, they found a surprising reversal of direction that challenges simple intuition about how motion behaves at the atomic scale.

The discovery was made using extremely powerful terahertz laser pulses that can trigger and track motion inside materials on ultra-fast timescales. What the researchers saw was not just movement, but a strange transformation: atomic rotations inside a quantum material flipped direction as they were transferred from one vibration mode to another.

This work was carried out by an international team of scientists from institutes including the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society, and several research centers across Germany and the Netherlands. Their results have been published in Nature Physics.

A Long-Standing Question About How Magnetism Works

To understand why this discovery matters, it helps to know what angular momentum is. In simple terms, angular momentum is the quantity that describes rotation—like a spinning wheel, a rotating planet, or a turning top.

In physics, one of the most important rules is that angular momentum cannot disappear. It can only be transferred from one object or system to another. This idea is closely linked to magnetism at the atomic level.

More than a hundred years ago, famous physicists Albert Einstein and Wander Johannes de Haas showed that changing the magnetism of a material can actually make the material physically rotate. This experiment proved that magnetic effects and mechanical rotation are deeply connected.

However, despite decades of research, scientists have never fully understood how angular momentum moves through the internal structure of solids like crystals. Does it travel smoothly? Does it change form? Or can it behave in unexpected ways when atoms interact?

The new experiment provides the clearest answer yet.

Watching Atomic Rotation in Real Time

The research team studied a special quantum material where atoms are arranged in a repeating crystal structure. Inside this structure, atoms do not just sit still—they vibrate in coordinated patterns called lattice vibrations.

These vibrations can sometimes behave like tiny rotating systems, carrying angular momentum through the material.

To observe this hidden motion, scientists used ultra-short, extremely powerful terahertz laser pulses. These pulses are capable of exciting specific atomic vibrations and forcing them into controlled motion.

In the experiment, one laser pulse triggered a circular vibration inside the crystal—essentially making a group of atoms “spin” in a coordinated way. A second, ultra-fast laser pulse then measured how this motion transferred to another vibration inside the material.

What they found was unexpected: when angular momentum moved from one vibrational mode to another, the direction of rotation sometimes flipped.

Instead of continuing in the same direction, the atomic motion reversed itself—like a spinning object suddenly changing direction while still obeying conservation laws.

Why Does the Spin Reverse?

At first glance, this reversal seems to break the rules of physics. But in reality, it is a result of the crystal’s internal symmetry.

Crystals are highly ordered structures, and their symmetry means that certain states of motion are mathematically equivalent even if they appear to rotate in opposite directions.

Because of this symmetry, angular momentum can be transferred in a way that looks like it has flipped direction, even though the total quantity is still conserved.

In simple terms, the crystal acts like a “mirror system” for rotational motion. When energy moves between different vibration modes, the structure of the crystal allows it to reappear as rotation in the opposite direction.

This creates a surprising effect where two identical rotations can combine into a new motion that spins the other way entirely.

The Strange “1 + 1 = −1” Quantum Effect

The most unusual result came from experiments using a material called bismuth selenide. In this case, the scientists observed that two rotational motions could combine and produce a new rotation that moves at twice the frequency—but in the opposite direction.

This behavior is so unusual that researchers describe it informally as a “1 + 1 = −1” effect.

In normal life, adding two positive motions would simply make motion stronger in the same direction. But at the quantum level inside a crystal, symmetry rules change how motion behaves.

This effect is related to a known concept in physics called an Umklapp process. In such processes, motion in a crystal lattice can appear reversed due to the periodic structure of the material. However, this is the first time scientists have directly observed this kind of reversal specifically involving angular momentum in lattice vibrations.

One of the researchers described the result as “extraordinarily elegant,” emphasizing how deeply symmetry controls the laws of physics at the smallest scales.

A Direct Window Into the Origins of Magnetism

This experiment is important not just because it shows a strange effect, but because it provides direct evidence of how angular momentum moves inside solids.

Magnetism, at its core, is linked to the motion and spin of electrons and atoms. But until now, scientists could only infer how these internal processes work. They could not directly observe angular momentum being transferred between atomic vibrations.

Now, for the first time, researchers have actually watched this transfer happen in real time inside a crystal.

This gives physicists a new way to understand the fundamental origin of magnetism and how it emerges from atomic motion.

It also shows that angular momentum behaves in more complex ways than previously thought, especially when symmetry and quantum effects come into play.

Why This Discovery Matters for Future Technology

While this research is highly fundamental, it could have important practical applications in the future.

Modern technology increasingly relies on controlling quantum properties of materials. This includes areas like ultrafast electronics, data storage, and quantum computing.

By understanding how angular momentum moves and transforms inside crystals, scientists may eventually learn how to control it with high precision.

This could lead to:

  • Faster and more efficient memory devices

  • Advanced spin-based electronics (spintronics)

  • Better control of quantum materials

  • New ways to manipulate information using atomic motion

Because the observed effects happen on extremely fast timescales—femtoseconds (one quadrillionth of a second)—they may open the door to ultra-fast technologies that operate far beyond current electronic speeds.

A New Chapter in Quantum Physics

The researchers behind the study believe that this discovery could change how scientists think about motion inside solids.

One of the lead scientists noted that the results may eventually become part of standard physics textbooks, as they reveal a fundamentally new aspect of how angular momentum behaves in matter.

Most importantly, the experiment shows that even well-established physical concepts like rotation can behave in surprising ways when viewed at the quantum scale.

What looks like a simple reversal of spin is actually a deep consequence of symmetry, conservation laws, and the hidden structure of crystals.

Conclusion

The observation of atoms “spinning backward” is not a violation of physics, but a stunning example of how complex and beautiful the quantum world can be.

By using advanced laser techniques, scientists have opened a new window into the hidden world of atomic motion. They have shown that angular momentum does not just flow through materials—it can transform, flip, and re-emerge in unexpected ways.

This discovery not only deepens our understanding of magnetism and quantum physics but also points toward a future where we may be able to control matter at its most fundamental level.

In the strange world of quantum crystals, even something as familiar as spinning can take a surprising turn—sometimes quite literally in the opposite direction.

Reference:

  1. Olga Minakova, Carolina Paiva, Maximilian Frenzel, Michael S. Spencer, Joanna M. Urban, Christoph Ringkamp, Martin Wolf, Gregor Mussler, Dominik M. Juraschek, Sebastian F. Maehrlein. Observation of angular momentum transfer among crystal lattice modes. Nature Physics, 2026; DOI: 10.1038/s41567-026-03274-8

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