A nuclear clock prototype hints at ultraprecise timekeeping
The device could allow for new tests of fundamental physics
![A photograph of scientific equipment, including a laser beam illuminating gas inside a vacuum chamber.](https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/090324_ev_nuclear_clock_feat.jpg?fit=1030%2C580&ssl=1)
In a new experiment, physicists used a laser (shown) to probe a jump between two energy levels in thorium-229, which could serve as a nuclear clock.
Chuankun Zhang/JILA