Like atomic clocks, molecular clocks may be used to test how gravity influences the flow of time R. Jacobson/National Institute of Standards and Technology
Pairs of extremely cold strontium atoms have been used to make the most accurate molecular clock yet. It could be used to detect new forces and test some of Albert Einstein’s ideas about gravity.
Today, the world’s most accurate clocks are atomic clocks, which “tick” based on the behaviour of electrons in atoms that are nearly as cold as absolute zero. Though ultracold molecules – made of multiple atoms – have …