Broken symmetry

Have you ever played with a toy that can spin round and round? When it's spinning, it looks the same from every angle. But if it slows down and stops, it will stay in one place and look different depending on which side you’re looking at it from. This is called symmetry.

Broken symmetry happens when something that used to be symmetrical, or even, becomes uneven. Imagine you have a pizza and you cut it into 8 equal slices. Each slice is the same and the pizza is symmetrical. But if you take one slice away, your pizza will be uneven or not symmetrical anymore. This is broken symmetry.

In science, broken symmetry can happen in many ways, like when a symmetrical object, like a crystal, is pushed or bumped and changes its shape, or when a magnet holds a metal in a certain direction but changes its direction after it’s been jostled.

Breaking symmetry can reveal new properties that were hidden when everything was even. This can happen in physics, where scientists study things smaller than atoms and try to find out how they work. They can also use broken symmetry to unlock new technologies, like better electronics or more efficient energy sources.