Researchers Demonstrate First Thorium-229 Nuclear Clock, Running 24 Hours

3 articles · Updated · Livescience.com · Jun 16

A thorium-229 nuclear clock ran continuously for 24 hours, marking the first functioning device to keep time from an atomic nucleus rather than electron transitions.
Thorium-229 enables the feat because its unusually low-energy nuclear state can be driven by ultraviolet laser light, and continuous-wave lasers now let researchers measure and correct the frequency in real time.
The nucleus is 1,000 to 10,000 times less sensitive to environmental noise than atomic transitions, and the thorium nuclei sit in a room-temperature crystal instead of requiring ultracold atoms in vacuum.
That combination could eventually yield compact clocks for navigation, telecoms and data synchronization, though researchers say it will take years to rival today’s best optical atomic clocks.
Physicists also see the device as a probe of new physics: its frequency is sensitive to the strong and weak forces as well as electromagnetism, potentially sharpening searches for dark matter and shifts in fundamental constants.

Sources

Livescience.com18h ago

Researchers Demonstrate World's First Functioning Thorium-229 Nuclear Clock for Robust Timekeeping and New Physics

MSN18h ago

First nuclear atomic clock has been used to investigate the properties of dark matter

dailybeirut.com18h ago

Nuclear Clock Using Thorium-229 Developed by Scientists · Daily Beirut

7 Sources

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Thorium-229 Nuclear Clocks Achieve First Ticks: Ushering in a New Era of Ultra-Precise Timekeeping and Fundamental Physics

Overview

In June 2026, nuclear clocks ticked for the first time, marking a major leap in precision timekeeping. Unlike traditional atomic clocks that use electron transitions, these new clocks harness transitions within the atomic nucleus, specifically using thorium-229. This breakthrough is possible because thorium-229’s nuclear transition is extremely sensitive to changes in the fine-structure constant, giving nuclear clocks extraordinary precision. The Vienna team played a key role in making this technology a reality. Their work not only advances timekeeping but also opens new possibilities for scientific discovery and practical applications.

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