Physicists are quietly rewriting one of the most basic units in science, using a new generation of optical clocks that can keep time so precisely they barely lose a beat over the age of the universe.

Atomic clocks have long been the gold standard for measuring time and frequency. Among them, optical clocks—using atoms like strontium or aluminum—have reached staggering levels of accuracy, with ...

Atomic clocks. They almost sound like something out of science fiction, or an experiment confined to some elite physics lab, but in reality, they’ve been around since the 1950s in one form or another.

WASHINGTON — In a new study, researchers carried out the most extensive coordinated comparison of optical clocks to date by operating clocks and the links connecting them simultaneously across six ...

The way time is measured is on the edge of a historic upgrade. At the heart of this change is a new kind of atomic clock that uses light instead of microwaves. This shift means timekeeping could ...

QuantX personnel conducting environmental testing on the optical frequency comb, which is a key optical atomic clock technology that will be launched into space for testing. (QuantX Labs) ...

Atomic clocks record time using microwaves at a frequency matched to electron transitions in certain atoms. They are the basis upon which a second is defined. But there is a new kid on the block, the ...

Inside a laboratory nestled in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, amid a labyrinth of lenses, mirrors, and other optical machinery bolted to a vibration-resistant table, an apparatus resembling a ...

Infleqtion, a global leader in neutral atom–based quantum technology, today announced a successful trial with the Royal Navy and MSubs, marking the first-ever deployment of a quantum optical atomic ...

Atomic physicists at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) are conducting research and development (R&D) of next-generation quantum atomic clocks, quantum sensors and component technologies for the ...