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Scientists in Vienna and Beijing unveil the world's first nuclear clocks that could detect dark matter

From the Newshound archive · first published 7 October 2026 · last updated 8 October 2026.

Nuclear clocks measure light striking an atomic nucleus — roughly 100,000 times smaller than the electron-based components of existing atomic clocks — making them far more stable.
Nuclear clocks measure light striking an atomic nucleus — roughly 100,000 times smaller than the electron-based components of existing atomic clocks — making them far more stable.

Teams at Vienna University of Technology and in Beijing have independently built the world's first functional nuclear clocks, a development that could shed light on fundamental questions about dark matter and the laws of physics. Rather than electrons, these clocks use light's interaction with an atomic nucleus as their timekeeping mechanism, which makes them far less susceptible to interference from electric fields. Both teams' findings appeared simultaneously in Nature, with some researchers suggesting the work's authors may one day be Nobel Prize winners.

Atomic clocks have kept time for over 70 years, but nuclear clocks, which rely on thorium-229, could prove dramatically more reliable.

The Vienna prototype has already reached a precision equivalent to losing just one second every 30 million years.

Among the most exciting prospective applications, scientists say, is detecting dark matter — the invisible material thought to account for much of the universe's total mass.

MoreThe IndependentScientists invent entirely new kind of clockReutersScientists in Vienna and Beijing create world's first nuclear clocks - ReutersEL PAÍS EnglishThe age of nuclear clocks is here: A new tool for probing the laws of physics - EL PAÍS EnglishPhys.orgThe first stand-alone nuclear clock is ticking in Vienna - Phys.org
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