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Timekeeping

All articles tagged with #timekeeping

First Operational Nuclear Clocks Match Atomic Precision in Nature Papers
science2 days ago

First Operational Nuclear Clocks Match Atomic Precision in Nature Papers

Researchers in Vienna and Beijing have demonstrated the first operational nuclear clocks, achieving precision comparable to state-of-the-art atomic clocks. These devices use thorium-229 embedded in calcium fluoride crystals, offering a more robust and compact alternative to current optical standards. The breakthroughs, published in Nature, enable new constraints on dark matter and lay the groundwork for future improvements in global timekeeping infrastructure.

via Financial Times|
#dark-matter#nuclear-clocks#quantum-physics
Deep Earth Core Dynamics Drive Decadal Shifts in Day Length
science5 days ago

Deep Earth Core Dynamics Drive Decadal Shifts in Day Length

A new study in Nature identifies gravitational, electromagnetic, and topographic coupling between Earth's inner core and mantle as the primary drivers of multidecadal changes in the length of a day. Researchers Huifeng Zhang and Mathieu Dumberry found that gravitational torque from the inner core primarily influences these shifts, while the other two mechanisms act as buffers. These deep interior interactions have altered the day's length by several milliseconds between the early 1970s and 2021, offering new constraints on the physical properties of Earth's deep layers.

via AOL.com|
#earth-science#geophysics#inner-core
Singapore team achieves 19-digit accuracy in lutetium atomic clock comparison
science15 days ago

Singapore team achieves 19-digit accuracy in lutetium atomic clock comparison

Researchers at the National University of Singapore (NUS) have developed a pair of optical atomic clocks using lutetium ions that achieve a fractional frequency uncertainty of 1 × 10⁻¹⁹. By comparing two independent systems over 200 hours, the team verified agreement to the 19th decimal place, marking a fourfold improvement over previous records. This precision enables millimeter-scale gravity measurements and supports the potential redefinition of the SI second.

via Nature|
#atomic-clocks#lutetium#nus
Timekeeping reboot: leap seconds may be replaced by a leap hour
science1 month ago

Timekeeping reboot: leap seconds may be replaced by a leap hour

Timekeepers may scrap the leap second as soon as October to prevent a possible negative leap second, opting instead for a leap hour that realigns time with Earth’s rotation after a full hour of drift. A CGPM vote in October will decide the change, aiming to reduce disruption to critical systems,-even as new long‑term challenges and rare edge cases are considered.

via Nature|
#leap-hour#leap-second#metrology
Orbiting daylight: how the ISS keeps a human day with engineered light
space2 months ago

Orbiting daylight: how the ISS keeps a human day with engineered light

With ~90-minute orbits yielding 16 sunrises and sunsets each day, the ISS keeps a 24-hour rhythm not by the Sun but by UTC scheduling, window management, and a smart lighting system that shifts from day (neutral/blue-enriched) to pre-sleep (warm) and alertness (cool). Astronauts still average about six hours of sleep, using sleep shifts when needed; future missions will rely even more on engineered daylight since there may be no Earth sunrise to cue the body.

via Space Daily|
#circadian#iss#lighting
First functional thorium nuclear clock hints at new physics
physics3 months ago

First functional thorium nuclear clock hints at new physics

Scientists report the first functioning thorium-229 nuclear clock, which uses a low-energy nuclear transition excited by UV lasers and operates continuously in a crystal at room temperature. The clock promises long-term stability that could surpass some optical clocks, enabling tests of fundamental forces beyond the Standard Model and offering a new avenue to search for dark matter, with potential future uses in navigation and communications as the technology matures.

via Live Science|
#dark-matter#fundamental-physics#nuclear-clock
Physicists Unveil the First Nuclear Clock in a Solid-State Crystal
science3 months ago

Physicists Unveil the First Nuclear Clock in a Solid-State Crystal

Two independent teams have demonstrated a solid-state nuclear clock using thorium-229 doped into calcium fluoride crystals, showing clock operation and benchmarking against atomic clocks while stabilizing a feedback loop to make it a true clock. The work suggests compact clocks with enhanced resilience to environmental factors that could enable nuclear quantum sensing and precision tests of fundamental physics, including ultralight dark matter, though the technology remains in early stages and will improve with advances in lasers and crystal tech.

via Gizmodo|
#calcium-fluoride#nuclear-clock#quantum-sensing
Clock-Ticking at the Supreme Court: Justices Push Back on Marathon Arguments
law4 months ago

Clock-Ticking at the Supreme Court: Justices Push Back on Marathon Arguments

Supreme Court justices are increasingly complaining that oral arguments run too long after adopting a pandemic-era hybrid format that blends free-form questioning with seriatim rounds. The average argument length has risen to about 90 minutes, with some hearings approaching three hours. Some praise the extra time for debate and transparency, while others worry the longer format hurts accessibility and alters bench dynamics on a conservative-leaning court. Chief Justice Roberts is trying to enforce timing, Justice Thomas has no objection, and liberal voices like Sotomayor and Jackson tend to speak the most in recent terms.

via CNN|
#law#liberal-wing#oral-arguments
Voyager Golden Record Doubles as a Billion-Year Time Capsule
space4 months ago

Voyager Golden Record Doubles as a Billion-Year Time Capsule

The Voyager Golden Record on each spacecraft carries two built-in clocks—a tiny uranium-238 sample on the cover to date its age by radioactive decay, and a pulsar map to date it via the slowdowns of 14 pulsars—providing two independent ways to estimate how long the record has drifted and offering redundancy on a timescale of hundreds of millions to billions of years.

via Space Daily|
#pulsars#space#timekeeping
Gravity Makes Time Local: Atomic Clocks Detect Millimeter-Scale Time Differences
science4 months ago

Gravity Makes Time Local: Atomic Clocks Detect Millimeter-Scale Time Differences

The most precise optical atomic clocks can now detect gravitational time dilation over a mere millimeter in a lab: clocks at the bottom run slightly slower than those at the top, enabling direct tests of general relativity at human scales. With precision around one part in 10^21—roughly one second in 30 billion years—this landmark achievement opens practical avenues for gravimetry, geophysics, and possibly redefining the second, signaling that time is locally shaped by gravity rather than universally uniform.

via Space Daily|
#atomic-clocks#general-relativity#gravitational-time-dilation
Nuclear clocks near reality promise ultra-precise timekeeping
science6 months ago

Nuclear clocks near reality promise ultra-precise timekeeping

Physicists are closing in on a nuclear clock that would use transitions in the thorium-229 nucleus to time events, following a 2024 laser breakthrough that pinpointed the key energy transition. The remaining challenge is building a stable 148-nanometer ultraviolet laser to drive the transition. Teams across China, Europe, Japan and the US are assembling the components, with some researchers predicting initial measurements as early as 2026, which could yield a compact, noise-resistant clock that may surpass current optical atomic clocks.

via Nature|
#nuclear-clock#optical-clocks#science
VAR Expanded and Tempo Rules Set for World Cup
sports7 months ago

VAR Expanded and Tempo Rules Set for World Cup

IFAB approved a broader VAR remit for the World Cup (including corners and wrong-team bookings) and introduced tempo measures to curb stoppages—countdowns on goal-kicks, throw-ins and substitutions, plus a 10-second rule for substitutes and a one-minute delay for players coming off injured. Changes take effect June 1 for the 2026-27 season, with trials planned on offside (Wenger’s daylight-offside in Canada) and other topics such as mouth-covering rules and DOGSO extensions to cover teammates. Some leagues, notably the Premier League, are expected to opt out of corner reviews. There are exemptions (goalkeepers unaffected, penalties and certain bookings), and a continued lack of consensus on tackling tactical timeouts.

via BBC|
#football-rules#ifab#sports