First dreamed up decades ago, the world's first nuclear clocks are set to improve quickly, becoming more precise and aiding the hunt for dark matter.

Keeping time is easy, keeping precise time is hard, but a new type of clock based on atomic nuclei has pushed time-keeping ...

(koto_feja/Getty Images) A breakthrough in chronometry decades in the making could redefine the limits of how we keep time.

World's first thorium-229 nuclear clock shows potential for ultra-precise timekeeping and fundamental physics tests.

Atomic clocks leveraged the atom to keep time, but new innovations will use the nucleus itself.

Most clocks, from wristwatches to the systems that run GPS and the internet, work by tracking regular, repeating motions. To build a clock, you need something that ticks in a perfectly repeatable way.

For decades, nuclear clocks have existed as one of physics’ most tempting promises. A ...

For many years, cesium atomic clocks have been reliably keeping time around the world. But the future belongs to even more accurate clocks: optical atomic clocks. In a few years' time, they could ...

This breakthrough in precision timing is about the size of your fingernail and only loses one second every 30,000 years. Reading time 2 minutes This tiny cube fits on the tip of your finger and also ...

Smaller version Illustration of a conventional atomic fountain clock (left) next to NPL’s miniature atomic fountain clock. (Courtesy: NPL) A miniature version of an atomic fountain clock has been ...

In popular culture, lasers are often portrayed as portable blasters that superheat whatever they hit. Some lasers do deliver tremendous amounts of energy in reality, but for scientists and engineers, ...