NUCLEAR CLOCKS TICK FOR THE FIRST TIME

Summary from the TLDR newsletter

Chinese and European research teams working independently have both achieved building a working nuclear clock. Both exploit the nucleus of a thorium-229 atom to keep time with extraordinary precision. Building a working nuclear clock has so far proven to be challenging, as the required laser light sits in a part of the spectrum that is technically challenging to generate and control. The Chinese team used a more powerful laser, while the European team worked with a crystal containing a higher concentration of the thorium nuclei.