Thorium plated steel points to smaller nuclear clocks
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Dec 11, 2025
Last year a UCLA-led team achieved a long-sought goal in nuclear spectroscopy by making radioactive thorium-229 nuclei absorb and emit photons in a controlled way, a capability scientists had pursued for about 50 years. That work, first proposed by the group in 2008, opened the door to nuclear clocks with very high precision that could influence navigation and tests of fundamental physics.
Last year a UCLA-led team achieved a long-sought goal in nuclear spectroscopy by making radioactive thorium-229 nuclei absorb and emit photons in a controlled way, a capability scientists had pursued for about 50 years. That work, first proposed by the group in 2008, opened the door to nuclear clocks with very high precision that could influence navigation and tests of fundamental physics.