World's first thorium-229 nuclear clock shows potential for ultra-precise timekeeping and fundamental physics tests.

First dreamed up decades ago, the world's first nuclear clocks are set to improve quickly, becoming more precise and aiding the hunt for dark matter.

But physicists have long dreamt of even better clocks that run on atomic nuclei, which are less sensitive to environmental disturbances. According to new research, that dream might soon become reality ...

To measure time, you need a constant rhythm. For eons, the regular movements of the sun and moon have set the pace for all of life on Earth. But over millennia, humans have sought and found more ...

Researchers have designed a quantum version of a pendulum clock. It could shed light on timekeeping in the quantum realm ...

A clock based on radioactive thorium atoms realises a long-held ambition, demonstrating a technology that could eventually beat the accuracy of today’s best atomic clocks ...

An ultra-precise measurement of a transition in the hearts of thorium atoms gives physicists a tool to probe the forces that bind the universe. At 11:30 one night in May 2024, a graduate student, ...

FOR THE discerning timekeeper, only an atomic clock will do. Whereas the best quartz timepieces will lose a millisecond every six weeks, an atomic clock might not lose a thousandth of one in a decade.