Lu+ optical frequency references with accuracy verified at the 19th digit

Live updates

1. 50m ago

   Singapore Scientists Develop World's Most Accurate Lutetium Atomic Clock

   Researchers at the Centre for Quantum Technologies (CQT) in Singapore have built a record-breaking atomic clock using lutetium ions. This optical frequency reference achieves accuracy verified at the 19th digit, making it the most precise timekeeping device ever created. The clock is so stable that it could potentially operate for 300 billion years before deviating by a single second. Its precision allows the device to detect how gravity influences the passage of time, providing a new tool for measuring gravitational shifts.

   Why it matters

   Atomic clocks provide the fundamental timing for global navigation and communication systems. By using lutetium, scientists can achieve higher stability and accuracy than previous atomic references. This level of precision enables the detection of relativistic effects on a microscopic scale.

   What is confirmed

   • Scientists in Singapore used lutetium to build the world's most accurate atomic clock.
   • The clock's accuracy is verified at the 19th digit.
   • The device was developed at the Centre for Quantum Technologies (CQT).
   • The clock can detect how gravity changes time.

   Still unconfirmed

   • The clock would deviate by only one second every 300 billion years.
   • Scientists intend to move the clock outside the laboratory to measure tiny gravitational shifts across Earth.

   What to watch next

   • Field tests of the clock outside the laboratory environment.
   • Peer review of the 19th-digit accuracy verification data.
   Sources used for this update (10)

   1. Nature — Lu+ optical frequency references with accuracy verified at the 19th digit
   2. Phys.org — Scientists build world's most accurate atomic clock
   3. New Atlas — New atomic clock breaks record for world’s most accurate
   4. Interesting Engineering — World-first: Scientists use lutetium to build world’s most accurate atomic clock
   5. Quantum Zeitgeist — Quantum Lutetium Clock At CQT Sets New World Record For Timekeeping
   6. rediff.com — New Lutetium Atomic Clock Achieves Unprecedented Stability
   7. The Economic Times — This atomic clock is so precise it can detect how gravity changes time. Scientists now want to take it outside the lab and measure tiny shifts across Earth
   8. The Economic Times — This atomic clock is so precise it can detect how gravity changes time. Scientists now want to take it out
   9. www.detik.com — Ilmuwan Singapura Bikin Jam Atom dari Lutetium, Diklaim Paling Akurat di Dunia
   10. www.forschung-und-wissen.de — Neue Atomuhr ginge in 300 Milliarden Jahren um keine Sekunde falsch
   confidence 90%