Advancements in Nuclear Clock Technology Illuminate the Future of Timekeeping

Scientists have observed a photon emitted by the nucleus of a thorium isotope, a crucial step in building a nuclear clock that could offer even more precise timekeeping than atomic clocks. The thorium-229 nucleus undergoes a transition with a unique energy and frequency suitable for very precise timekeeping, but observing this transition and identifying its energy precisely are difficult tasks. The detection of the photon emitted in this transition is a significant advance towards the development of nuclear clocks.