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Atomic nucleus excited with laser: A breakthrough after decades

The "thorium transition", which physicists have been looking for for decades, has now been excited for the first time with lasers. This paves the way for revolutionary high precision technologies, including nuclear clocks.

Physicists have been hoping for this moment for a long time: for many years, scientists all around the world have been searching for a very specific state of thorium atomic nuclei that promises revolutionary technological applications. The large number of thorium nuclei amplifies the effect, shortens the required measurement time and increases the probability of actually finding the energy transition. His group as well as competing teams from all over the world have repeatedly achieved important partial successes in recent years.

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