This record-breaking ultraviolet crystal may unlock nuclear clocks and change how submarines, spacecraft, and missiles navigate without external signals

Nuclear clocks promise accuracy far beyond existing atomic timekeeping systems Thorium 229 offers a rare pathway to practical nuclear time measurement Ultraviolet breakthrough reduces one of the hardest barriers in nuclear clock development A new crystal developed by Chinese scientists has broken the world record for ultraviolet light conversion, bringing nuclear clock technology closer to reality. The fluorinated borate compound pushes laser light to a wavelength of 145.2nm, beating the previous benchmark of 150nm set by a Chinese crystal from the 1990s. This wavelength is suitably short to meet a key requirement for ultra-precise portable nuclear clocks being developed in…