Breakthrough in Atomic Clock Technology: MIT Physicists Discover New Method to Improve Stability

Strategic Insights -

Atomic clocks rely on precise tracking of atoms to keep time, with today's models using cesium atoms that tick over 10 billion times per second. Scientists are developing next-generation atomic clocks that use ytterbium atoms, which can be tracked with lasers at higher, optical frequencies, potentially reaching 100 trillion times per second. MIT physicists have now found a way to improve the stability of these clocks by reducing "quantum noise" and discovered that a laser-induced "global phase" in ytterbium atoms can be harnessed to further stabilize the laser. This new approach doubles the precision of an optical atomic clock and enables it to discern twice as many ticks per second.

Key Takeaways:

  • MIT physicists have developed a method to improve the stability of optical atomic clocks by reducing quantum noise and harnessing a laser-induced "global phase" in ytterbium atoms.
  • The new approach doubles the precision of an optical atomic clock, enabling it to discern twice as many ticks per second compared to the same setup without the new method.
  • The researchers anticipate that the precision of the method should increase steadily with the number of atoms in an atomic clock.
  • The method, known as global phase spectroscopy, has been published in a study in the journal Nature.
  • The physicists envision that the clock-stabilizing technique could enable portable optical atomic clocks that can be transported to various locations to measure phenomena such as dark matter and dark energy.

Statistics:

  • 10 billion times per second: The frequency at which cesium atoms tick in today's atomic clocks.
  • 100 trillion times per second: The potential frequency at which ytterbium atoms can be tracked with lasers at higher, optical frequencies.
  • 2020: The year Vuletic and his colleagues demonstrated that an atomic clock could be made more precise by inducing quantum entanglement among several hundred ytterbium atoms.
  • 2022: The year the same team derived a way to further amplify the difference in laser versus atom tick rates with "time reversal" using traditional microwaves.
  • 100: The factor by which the precision of the method is expected to increase with the number of atoms in an atomic clock.

Sources:

  • VerticalNews Science, "MIT Physicists Discover New Method to Improve Stability of Atomic Clocks" (2025-11-02)
  • Nature, Vuletic et al., "Global Phase Spectroscopy for Atomic Clock Stabilization" (no date provided)
  • NewsRx LLC, "Ticking Time" (no date provided)