GoKawiilScientists unveil lutetium optical clock accurate to 260 billion years
Physicists have built an optical atomic clock based on the rare-earth element lutetium that would drift by less than one second over roughly 260 billion years, making it the most precise timekeeper reported so far. The clock measures time using the frequency of visible light absorbed by lutetium atoms. Researchers say its design is stable enough that they aim to miniaturize it for use outside the laboratory.
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Such extreme precision could improve navigation systems, tests of fundamental physics, and detection of tiny variations in gravity or time itself, according to the researchers. Making the technology portable, as the team hopes to do, could eventually bring lab-grade timekeeping into field or satellite applications rather than confining it to specialized facilities.
- A new optical atomic clock using lutetium is the most accurate timepiece reported to date.
- It would lose less than a second over about 260 billion years.
- Researchers hope to miniaturize the device for use beyond the laboratory.
Source: nature.com — Smith, 2026-09-24
Published there as: “Daily briefing: Will AI really be the death of us all?”
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