PTB (Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt)

New Capabilities

As of October 2026: Co-developer of the nuclear clock concept and laser excitation

For 70 years, the world's most precise clocks have counted the vibrations of electrons orbiting an atom. In early October 2026, two teams — one in Vienna, one in Beijing — unveiled the first clocks that read time from the ticking of a thorium nucleus instead.

Updated Oct 11