Researchers have developed the first working nuclear clock based on radioactive thorium atoms. This breakthrough marks a major step forward in precision timekeeping by targeting nuclear transitions rather than electronic ones, which atomic clocks currently use.
The new nuclear clock aims to surpass the accuracy of today’s state-of-the-art atomic clocks. Its enhanced precision could improve scientific measurements across physics, navigation, and fundamental research.
This milestone realizes a decades-long ambition to leverage nuclear properties for timekeeping, opening the door to a new era of temporal accuracy.
