A collaboration between researchers in the US and Germany has made a major breakthrough in optical nuclear clocks, achieving laser-based excitation of Thoria-229 in a non-transparent host material.

Researchers demonstrated a new optical atomic clock that uses a single laser and doesn't require cryogenic temperatures. By greatly reducing the size and complexity of atomic clocks without ...

Every single day, humans rely on hundreds of hidden clocks. GPS location, Internet stability, stock trading, power grid management ... all rely on atomic clocks in order to work. Many of those clocks ...

Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more. Picture a clock ...

At this point, atomic clocks are old news. They’ve been quietly keeping our world on schedule for decades now, and have been through several iterations with each generation gaining more accuracy. They ...

Breakthrough could pave the way for next-generation GPS in drones, smartphones and self-driving cars, scientists say. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.