(ANSA) – ROME, 04 SEPTEMBER – The first nuclear clock has been created, based not on an atom like current atomic clocks, but on the nucleus of an atom: for the moment it is still a prototype, but once perfected it will become the most precise instrument in the world. The result, which earned the cover of the journal Nature, is due to the group of researchers led by the American University of Colorado in Boulder. Nuclear clocks will not only allow us to measure time in an ultra-precise manner: in addition to even more reliable navigation systems, faster internet and more secure digital communications, they also open the way to new discoveries in the field of physics, allowing us to investigate the fundamental laws of nature like never before. Atomic clocks measure time by tuning a laser to the frequencies needed to make an electron ‘jump’ from one energy state to another. Researchers led by Chuankun Zhang, instead, used a laser specifically designed to obtain a similar result not with electrons, but with the nucleus of an atom, that is, the part formed only by protons and neutrons. To achieve this, the authors of the study focused on a thorium nucleus trapped in a crystal, which constitutes the heart of the first prototype of a nuclear clock. According to the researchers, the best atomic clock currently in circulation could be surpassed within 2-3 years. (ANSA).
2024-09-05 21:13:34