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

Keeping time is easy, keeping precise time is hard, but a new type of clock based on atomic nuclei has pushed time-keeping precision to new levels.

A clock built from thorium-229 has crossed an important line, from a long-discussed concept to a working device. The shift matters because this clock does more than keep time. It can also watch for ...

Two independent teams of scientists have created the first functional clocks that can keep ultraprecise time using the nuclei of a radioactive element ...

Most clocks, from wristwatches to the systems that run GPS and the internet, work by tracking regular, repeating motions. To build a clock, you need something that ticks in a perfectly repeatable way.

Researchers demonstrated a new optical atomic clock that uses a single laser and doesn't require cryogenic temperatures. By greatly reducing the size and complexity of atomic clocks without ...

Atomic clocks are established as the most precise timekeepers created. Atomic clocks work by deploying lasers to measure the vibrations of atoms (electromagnetic signals). By atoms oscillating at a ...

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. A new study suggests trapped-ion atomic clocks could detect quantum superpositions of time, opening a path toward uniting quantum ...

Atomic clocks will only see a loss of 1 second in accuracy over a period of 10 million years. They are used in multiple ways, including the GPS in your car. Now researchers have found a way to bypass ...

Scientific clockmakers have crafted a prototype of a nuclear clock, hinting at future possibilities for using atomic nuclei to perform precise measurements of time and make new tests of fundamental ...