science
Scientists Demonstrate First Nuclear Clock Using Thorium Nuclei in Crystal
A thorium-based device developed at Vienna University of Technology ran continuously for 24 hours at room temperature and already shows use in dark matter searches.
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Scientists have built the first working nuclear clock that uses vibrations of atomic nuclei to keep time. Thorsten Schumm and colleagues at the Vienna University of Technology in Austria embedded radioactive thorium in a calcium fluoride crystal and operated the device with an ultraviolet laser.
The laser periodically switches between two frequencies just above and below thorium’s known nuclear frequency.
When absorption is equal at both frequencies, the laser is correctly tuned; any difference provides feedback to adjust the frequency. The specific laser frequency required to excite the thorium nucleus was first discovered in 2023. The prototype loses tens of seconds every billion years.
It ran continuously overnight and for 24 hours without user intervention, according to Ekkehard Peik at PTB. The clock works at room temperature and does not require cooling to extremely low temperatures or placement in a vacuum. Schumm and colleagues used the device to rule out possible dark matter particles by measuring potential changes in nuclear energy transitions.
“It’s the culmination of 15 to 20 years of research,” Schumm stated. “It’s amazing. 04997. New Scientist reported the development.
