Beyond the atom: The quest to build a more precise clock
In short: For decades, atomic clocks have been our gold standard for precision, measuring the behavior of electrons. But scientists are now moving deeper into the atom's core. By harnessing the nuclei of radioactive elements, they are creating nuclear clocks that could redefine our measurement of time and reality.
Current state-of-the-art timekeeping relies on atomic clocks, which measure the quantum energy levels of electrons as they jump between states when excited by lasers. While incredibly accurate, these systems are still susceptible to external influences like electromagnetic fields. Nuclear clocks represent a leap forward because they rely on transitions within the nucleus—the dense core of protons and neutrons. Because the nucleus is shielded from many outside disturbances, it offers the potential for even greater precision.
The breakthrough involves using thorium-229 atoms. While transitioning between energy levels usually demands vast power for most nuclei, thorium is unique because it features two nuclear states with a notably tiny interval between them. This allows researchers to trigger transitions using laser light. In April 2024, teams led by Prof. Thorsten Schumm at TU Wien and Prof. Ekkehard Peik at PTB Braunschweig experimentally identified this transition for the first time.
The latest milestone is the creation of a self-stabilizing nuclear clock. Unlike previous prototypes that required an external atomic clock to remain accurate, these new devices can maintain their own stability independently for over 24 hours. This advancement in metrology isn't just about better watches; it provides a sensitive tool to search for dark matter—the invisible substance thought to comprise most of the universe's matter.
The race is now on between independent teams, including groups in Europe and China who recently published findings on the arXiv preprint server. While these results are not yet peer-reviewed, they mark the beginning of a new era in physics where nuclear clocks may eventually render current atomic technology obsolete.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: The Nuclear Clock Is Finally Real And It May Change Everything
- Also: The World's First Nuclear Clocks Are Ticking, Opening a New Way to Investigate Dark Matter and Other Mysteries of Physics
- Also: Scientists build a nuclear clock that could make atomic clocks obsolete
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