Scientists build a nuclear clock that could make atomic clocks obsolete

Scientists have reached a major milestone in the quest to build an entirely new kind of clock. After decades of research, a team in Vienna has developed the world's first self-stabilizing nuclear clock, a device that could eventually measure time with far greater precision than today's most advanced atomic clocks.

Unlike earlier prototypes, the new nuclear clock can maintain its own stability without depending on a conventional atomic clock. Researchers have demonstrated that it can operate steadily for more than 24 hours without intervention.

The achievement represents an important advance in precision measurement, also known as metrology. By using atomic nuclei as exceptionally stable references, nuclear clocks could eventually allow scientists to measure time and other physical quantities with levels of accuracy that existing technologies cannot reach.

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