Nuclear effect The deformed shape of the ytterbium-173 nucleus (right) makes it possible to excite the clock transition with a relatively low-power laser. The same transition is forbidden (left) if ...

For the first time, an international team of physicists has successfully harnessed a rare orbital transition in atoms of ytterbium to create a new type of atomic clock that is both highly precise and ...

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An ultra-precise laser synchronized to one of the world’s most precise clocks has been used to excite rapid nuclear oscillations — promising a timekeeper that could help to tackle fundamental ...

Physicists have developed a highly precise and ultra-sensitive atomic clock based on ytterbium, which could test the limits of the Standard Model and even search for elusive dark matter. Led by Taiki ...