Disclosed: First-Ever Nuclear Timekeeper Unveiled by Scientists
Rewritten Article:
Exploring the "nuclear" timekeeper: a device that ticks away the moments via atom nucleus signals, born from the minds of researchers led by scientists at JILA, a joint institute between the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Colorado Boulder. These pioneers unveiled their groundbreaking creation today, sharing their findings in the renowned scientific journal, Nature.
Jun Ye, a brilliant physicist at NIST and JILA, had this to say, "Picture a timepiece so accurate, it wouldn't lose a second even after running for billions of years." While we're not at the 'billions of years' mark, this cutting-edge research pushes us closer to that stratospheric level of precision."
In a world that runs on precise measurements, ordinary clocks like the one on your wrist rely on a quartz crystal oscillator to measure time. These crystals oscillate at specific frequencies to track the passing of time, just like a pendulum in an old-fashioned grandfather clock. But these conventional clocks fall short when it comes to making high-stakes measurements, such as tracking the movement of spacecraft.
Enter atomic clocks, the stars of the precision show, which excel in maintaining their accuracy for extended periods. Yet, even they bow before the demand for the highest precision.
So, what sets the nuclear clock apart? It capitalizes on energy jumps in an atom's nucleus for timekeeping, bypassing the need to measure electrons that may be influenced by annoying electromagnetic fields. Most nuclear clocks require a twist in the form of a crafted X-ray to get a nucleus to perform the needed energy jumps, but the newly developed clock runs on thorium, which only requires ultraviolet light to do the trick.
Thorsten Schumm, a physicist at TU Wien and a member of the inventive team, shared his excitement, "With this first prototype, we've demonstrated that thorium is a viable option for ultra-precise timekeeping. The technical development work is all that remains, with no major obstacles in sight."
While the new nuclear clock isn't more precise than today's top atomic clocks, Schumm believes his team will soon outpace them. "The early cars weren't any faster than horse-drawn carriages," he explained. "It was all about introducing a new concept, and that's exactly what we've now achieved with the nuclear clock."
In July, another team of researchers showed off the most accurate atomic clock to date. This magnificent timekeeper corrals thousands of atoms to keep time and must lose a second every 30 billion years, a staggering number when you consider that our universe is barely 14 billion years old, and the Earth is less than 5 billion.
The clockwork of the universe is quite a captivating spectacle, isn't it?
- The nuclear timekeeper, a recent development from JILA researchers, utilizes signals from atom nuclei for its ticking mechanism, aiming to surpass the precision of conventional atomic clocks.
- Jun Ye, a physicist at JILA and NIST, envisions a timepiece so accurate it wouldn't lose a second even over billions of years, which this new nuclear clock, though not yet at that level, is bringing us closer to achieving.
- Unlike most nuclear clocks, the new invention runs on thorium, requiring only ultraviolet light to induce the necessary energy jumps, rather than the usual crafted X-rays.
- The new nuclear clock, while not yet more precise than today's top atomic clocks, asserts Thorsten Schumm, a member of the inventive team, will soon outpace them, much like how early cars paved the way for the automobile industry.