Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jul 03, 2024
![](https://www.spxdaily.com/images-bg/ucla-flourine-rich-crystal-laser-excite-nucleus-thorium-229-atom-bg.jpg)
For nearly 50 years, physicists have dreamed of the secrets they could unlock by raising the energy state of an atom's nucleus using a laser. The achievement would allow today's atomic clocks to be replaced with a nuclear clock that would be the most accurate clock to ever exist, allowing advances like deep space navigation and communication. It would also allow scientists to measure precisely w