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These stories highlight advances in atomic clock science at NIST.

Table in darkened lab holds wiring and other laser electronics; a circular light source is situated above.

Major Leap for Nuclear Clock Paves Way for Ultraprecise Timekeeping

September 4, 2024

These clocks could lead to improved timekeeping and navigation, faster internet speeds, and advances in fundamental physics research.

What Time Is It on the Moon?

August 12, 2024

New lunar time proposal is a first step for Moon GPS.

Close-up of a scientific instrument with wires and a circular metallic component, illuminated by blue light, featuring a small red dot at the center.

World’s Most Accurate and Precise Atomic Clock Pushes New Frontiers in Physics

July 1, 2024

The clock is the latest demonstration that a much more precise definition of the official second is possible and that new applications of clocks are feasible.

NIST-Designed Photonic Chip Transforms a Single Beam of Light Into Multiple Beams, Each With a Panoply of Different Properties

June 30, 2023

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have devised a photonic circuit on a chip that transforms a single incoming beam of

Jun Ye: A Timely Profile

June 26, 2023

Physicist Jun Ye has a knack for making every second count—literally. At JILA, a joint research institute of the University of Colorado and the National

New Tiny Atomic Beam Clock Could Bring Stable Timing to Places GPS Can’t Reach

June 21, 2023

A new type of miniature atomic clock could provide better timing over the span of weeks and months compared with current systems.

Manipulating Multiple Lasers on a Single Chip: Paving the Way for a New Generation of Quantum Devices

April 10, 2023

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed chip-scale devices for simultaneously manipulating the color, focus

Improved Chip-Scale Color Conversion Lasers Could Enable Many Next-generation Quantum Devices

March 28, 2023

In two new studies, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have greatly improved the efficiency and power output of a series

Superconducting Nanowire Single-Photon Detector

Unveiling the Universe: In 4 New Studies, NIST Explores Novel Ways to Hunt Dark Matter

December 8, 2022

For decades, astronomers and physicists have been trying to solve one of the deepest mysteries about the cosmos: An estimated 85% of its mass is missing.

Adam Kaufman poses for a head shot with a shelf of library books in the background.

NIST Physicist Adam Kaufman Wins Breakthrough New Horizons in Physics Prize

September 22, 2022

Kaufman won for his work in advancing the control of atoms and molecules to improve atomic clocks and quantum information processing.