Physicists take a major step toward making a nuclear clock
In a first, a tabletop laser nudged a thorium nucleus into a higher energy state
![A split illustration shows a thorium nucleus alongside a clock.](https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/040224_ec_nuclear-clock-adv_feat-rev.jpg?fit=1030%2C580&ssl=1)
Scientists have taken a step toward building a nuclear clock out of thorium-229.
Mustapha Laatiaoui
In a first, a tabletop laser nudged a thorium nucleus into a higher energy state
Scientists have taken a step toward building a nuclear clock out of thorium-229.
Mustapha Laatiaoui