Revolutionary Terahertz Molecular Clock Achieves Unprecedented Precision.

Researchers at Columbia University and University of Warsaw have developed a highly accurate molecular clock based on the diatomic molecule Sr2, which uses the vibrational modes of the molecule as a precise frequency reference to keep track of time. The clock achieved a total systematic uncertainty of 4.6×10−14, exhibiting a notably high precision. The vibrational molecular clock could become a standard for terahertz frequency applications and inform the creation of new molecular spectroscopy tools.