{"id":17605,"date":"2026-07-10T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-10T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/?p=17605"},"modified":"2026-07-07T12:36:19","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T10:36:19","slug":"nuclear-clock-a-deeper-measure-of-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/nuclear-clock-a-deeper-measure-of-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside the Nuclear Clock, Time Finds a Smaller Beat"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 id=\"h-how-does-the-first-nuclear-clock-work\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">How does the first nuclear clock work?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to papers <a href=\"https:\/\/arxiv.org\/abs\/2606.04997\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">published<\/a> in recent days, researchers have succeeded for the first time in creating a full nuclear clock. Scientists from Europe and China turned to thorium-229, an exceptional isotope that can serve as an extraordinarily precise \u201cpendulum.\u201d Instead of tracking the movements of electrons around the atomic nucleus, their clocks measure subtle changes taking place inside the nucleus itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A laser is continuously tuned to the energy transition in the thorium-229 nucleus, while the device operates in a closed loop: it corrects itself and keeps its rhythm. What is most surprising is that two teams on two different continents achieved this result almost at the same moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-the-problem-was-in-the-electrons\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">The problem was in the electrons<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The idea of a nuclear clock appeared as early as the 1990s, and a concrete proposal was presented in 2003. For a long time, however, it remained theoretical. Today\u2019s most accurate clocks are based on electronic transitions in atoms and ions. The problem is that electrons sit on the outer <a href=\"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/time-without-a-clock-a-small-universe-speaks\/\" type=\"post\" id=\"17565\">edges of the atom<\/a> and can be relatively easily disturbed by magnetic fields, temperature, and other external factors. The nucleus is far more \u201cquiet\u201d and resistant to such interference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-2024-was-an-important-milestone\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">2024 was an important milestone<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2024, researchers managed for the first time to excite the nuclear transition in thorium-229 with a laser, and later showed that it could be controlled. But that still was not a full clock. Only now have teams including researchers from TU Wien, the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, and Tsinghua University gone a step further: they have created a system in which the nucleus not only responds to the laser, but also helps maintain a constant frequency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-the-search-for-dark-matter\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">The search for dark matter<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Scientists have already managed to use the nuclear clock for something genuinely fascinating: the search for dark matter. Because the thorium-229 nucleus is exceptionally \u201csensitive,\u201d the clock can detect even extremely subtle changes in the laws of physics. In the study, it allowed researchers to set new limits on hypothetical ultralight dark matter. This shows that the clock does not merely measure time with great precision. Even now, it is helping us peer into one of the greatest mysteries of the universe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For now, the first nuclear clocks <strong>are not yet better than their atomic counterparts<\/strong>. That is hardly surprising, since atomic clocks have been developed for 70 years. The most important point is different: a technology that remained a dream of physicists for decades has finally begun to work. If researchers\u2019 forecasts prove correct, nuclear clocks may overtake atomic clocks within a few years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Read this article in Polish:<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/holistic.news\/zlamano-tajemnice-czasu-pierwszy-zegar-jadrowy-wlasnie-ruszyl\/\">Czas mo\u017cna mierzy\u0107 jeszcze g\u0142\u0119biej. Pierwszy zegar j\u0105drowy ju\u017c ruszy\u0142<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For decades, the nuclear clock was one of those ideas that looked elegant on paper but refused to work in the laboratory. Now two independent teams have brought it to life almost at the same time. If the technology fulfils its promise, it could mark a new frontier in precise timekeeping.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":274,"featured_media":17606,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[435],"tags":[2726,1296,2739,920],"class_list":["post-17605","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-science","tag-atoms","tag-dark-matter","tag-nuclear-clock","tag-time"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.7 (Yoast SEO v27.7) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Nuclear Clock. A Deeper Measure of Time<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The first nuclear clock is now working, using thorium-229 nuclei to measure time and probe dark matter with remarkable sensitivity.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/nuclear-clock-a-deeper-measure-of-time\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Nuclear Clock. A Deeper Measure of Time\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The first nuclear clock is now working, using thorium-229 nuclei to measure time and probe dark matter with remarkable sensitivity.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/nuclear-clock-a-deeper-measure-of-time\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Holistic News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/portalHolisticNews\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-10T15:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/nuclear_clock.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Patrycja Krzeszowska\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@news_holistic\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@news_holistic\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Patrycja Krzeszowska\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/holistic.news\\\/en\\\/nuclear-clock-a-deeper-measure-of-time\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/holistic.news\\\/en\\\/nuclear-clock-a-deeper-measure-of-time\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Patrycja Krzeszowska\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/holistic.news\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/00d8484052b491e0dbe93d6ee7deef88\"},\"headline\":\"Inside the Nuclear Clock, Time Finds a Smaller Beat\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-10T15:00:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/holistic.news\\\/en\\\/nuclear-clock-a-deeper-measure-of-time\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":455,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/holistic.news\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/holistic.news\\\/en\\\/nuclear-clock-a-deeper-measure-of-time\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/holistic.news\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/nuclear_clock.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"atoms\",\"dark matter\",\"nuclear clock\",\"time\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Science\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/holistic.news\\\/en\\\/nuclear-clock-a-deeper-measure-of-time\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/holistic.news\\\/en\\\/nuclear-clock-a-deeper-measure-of-time\\\/\",\"name\":\"Nuclear Clock. A Deeper Measure of Time\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/holistic.news\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/holistic.news\\\/en\\\/nuclear-clock-a-deeper-measure-of-time\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/holistic.news\\\/en\\\/nuclear-clock-a-deeper-measure-of-time\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/holistic.news\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/nuclear_clock.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-10T15:00:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"The first nuclear clock is now working, using thorium-229 nuclei to measure time and probe dark matter with remarkable sensitivity.\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/holistic.news\\\/en\\\/nuclear-clock-a-deeper-measure-of-time\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/holistic.news\\\/en\\\/nuclear-clock-a-deeper-measure-of-time\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/holistic.news\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/nuclear_clock.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/holistic.news\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/nuclear_clock.jpg\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":720,\"caption\":\"Patrycja Krzeszowska \\\/ Gemini AI\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/holistic.news\\\/en\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/holistic.news\\\/en\\\/\",\"name\":\"Holistic News | in English\",\"description\":\"Seeking Truth and Goodness\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/holistic.news\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/holistic.news\\\/en\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/holistic.news\\\/en\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Holistic News\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/holistic.news\\\/en\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/holistic.news\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/holistic.news\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/09\\\/logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/holistic.news\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/09\\\/logo.png\",\"width\":269,\"height\":57,\"caption\":\"Holistic News\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/holistic.news\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/portalHolisticNews\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/news_holistic\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/holisticnews\\\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/holistic.news\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/00d8484052b491e0dbe93d6ee7deef88\",\"name\":\"Patrycja Krzeszowska\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/954576fcb927ceca5917fc166a557277180fc0026e437f214e94c9a465988b0c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/954576fcb927ceca5917fc166a557277180fc0026e437f214e94c9a465988b0c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/954576fcb927ceca5917fc166a557277180fc0026e437f214e94c9a465988b0c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Patrycja Krzeszowska\"},\"description\":\"A graduate of journalism and social communication at the University of Rzesz\u00f3w. She has been working in the media since 2019. She has collaborated with newsrooms and copywriting agencies. She has a strong background in psychology, especially cognitive psychology. She is also interested in social issues. She specializes in scientific discoveries and research that have a direct impact on human life.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/holistic.news\\\/en\\\/author\\\/patrycja-krzeszkowska\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Nuclear Clock. A Deeper Measure of Time","description":"The first nuclear clock is now working, using thorium-229 nuclei to measure time and probe dark matter with remarkable sensitivity.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/nuclear-clock-a-deeper-measure-of-time\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Nuclear Clock. A Deeper Measure of Time","og_description":"The first nuclear clock is now working, using thorium-229 nuclei to measure time and probe dark matter with remarkable sensitivity.","og_url":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/nuclear-clock-a-deeper-measure-of-time\/","og_site_name":"Holistic News","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/portalHolisticNews\/","article_published_time":"2026-07-10T15:00:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":720,"url":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/nuclear_clock.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Patrycja Krzeszowska","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@news_holistic","twitter_site":"@news_holistic","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Patrycja Krzeszowska","Estimated reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/nuclear-clock-a-deeper-measure-of-time\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/nuclear-clock-a-deeper-measure-of-time\/"},"author":{"name":"Patrycja Krzeszowska","@id":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/00d8484052b491e0dbe93d6ee7deef88"},"headline":"Inside the Nuclear Clock, Time Finds a Smaller Beat","datePublished":"2026-07-10T15:00:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/nuclear-clock-a-deeper-measure-of-time\/"},"wordCount":455,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/nuclear-clock-a-deeper-measure-of-time\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/nuclear_clock.jpg","keywords":["atoms","dark matter","nuclear clock","time"],"articleSection":["Science"],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/nuclear-clock-a-deeper-measure-of-time\/","url":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/nuclear-clock-a-deeper-measure-of-time\/","name":"Nuclear Clock. A Deeper Measure of Time","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/nuclear-clock-a-deeper-measure-of-time\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/nuclear-clock-a-deeper-measure-of-time\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/nuclear_clock.jpg","datePublished":"2026-07-10T15:00:00+00:00","description":"The first nuclear clock is now working, using thorium-229 nuclei to measure time and probe dark matter with remarkable sensitivity.","inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/nuclear-clock-a-deeper-measure-of-time\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/nuclear-clock-a-deeper-measure-of-time\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/nuclear_clock.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/nuclear_clock.jpg","width":1280,"height":720,"caption":"Patrycja Krzeszowska \/ Gemini AI"},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/","name":"Holistic News | in English","description":"Seeking Truth and Goodness","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/#organization","name":"Holistic News","url":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/logo.png","width":269,"height":57,"caption":"Holistic News"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/portalHolisticNews\/","https:\/\/x.com\/news_holistic","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/holisticnews\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/00d8484052b491e0dbe93d6ee7deef88","name":"Patrycja Krzeszowska","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/954576fcb927ceca5917fc166a557277180fc0026e437f214e94c9a465988b0c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/954576fcb927ceca5917fc166a557277180fc0026e437f214e94c9a465988b0c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/954576fcb927ceca5917fc166a557277180fc0026e437f214e94c9a465988b0c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Patrycja Krzeszowska"},"description":"A graduate of journalism and social communication at the University of Rzesz\u00f3w. She has been working in the media since 2019. She has collaborated with newsrooms and copywriting agencies. She has a strong background in psychology, especially cognitive psychology. She is also interested in social issues. She specializes in scientific discoveries and research that have a direct impact on human life.","url":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/author\/patrycja-krzeszkowska\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17605","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/274"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17605"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17605\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17607,"href":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17605\/revisions\/17607"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17606"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17605"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17605"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17605"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}