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Chinese scientists have developed a nuclear clock and achieved stable operation, shifting ultra-precise time measurement from electron transitions inside atoms to transitions within atomic nuclei, according to a research article published in the journal Nature.  The nuclear clock uses lasers to drive precise energy-level transitions within the atomic nucleus of thorium-229, a special radioactive isotope, and uses the frequency of these nuclear transitions as its time reference. Researchers built the device with a self-developed 148-nanometer continuous-wave vacuum ultraviolet laser and a thorium-229-doped calcium fluoride crystal. The new clock is expected to set a next-generation time and frequency standard, and marks an important breakthrough in the field of quantum precision measurement.