Toward a practical nuclear pendulum

LMU researchers have, for the first time, measured the lifetime of an excited state in the nucleus of an unstable element. This is a major step toward a nuclear clock that could keep even better time than today's best atomic timekeepers. Atomic clocks are the most precise chronometers we now have. These timekeepers are based on precise knowledge of the frequency of specific transitions between defined energy levels in the electron shells of certain atoms. Theoretical studies suggest that nuclear clocks that make use of analogous changes in the energy states of atomic nuclei could provide even more accurate frequency standards for timekeeping purposes. Research teams around the world are now exploring ways of turning this theoretical possibility into a practical reality. Early last summer, physicists Dr. Peter Thirolf , Lars von der Wense and Benedict Seif erle at LMU's Chair of Medical Physics, in collaboration with colleagues in Mainz and Darmstadt, achieved a notable breakthrough in the quest to develop a functioning nuclear clock.