(koto_feja/Getty Images) A breakthrough in chronometry decades in the making could redefine the limits of how we keep time.

A clock built from thorium-229 has crossed an important line, from a long-discussed concept to a working device. The shift ...

Time feels familiar. It marks every moment of daily life, from the ticking of a wall clock to the changing numbers on a ...

(THE CONVERSATION) Most clocks, from wristwatches to the systems that run GPS and the internet, work by tracking regular, repeating motions. To build a clock, you need something that ticks in a ...

Atomic clocks are established as the most precise timekeepers created. Atomic clocks work by deploying lasers to measure the vibrations of atoms (electromagnetic signals). By atoms oscillating at a ...

But physicists have long dreamt of even better clocks that run on atomic nuclei, which are less sensitive to environmental ...

Two independent research teams have achieved a longstanding goal in physics: building a working nuclear clock. The devices, ...

Most clocks, from wristwatches to the systems that run GPS and the internet, work by tracking regular, repeating motions. To build a clock, you need something that ticks in a perfectly repeatable way.