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Graphical representation of a nuclear clock based on a transition in the atomic nucleus of thorium-229 (left). In such a clock, the nucleus will be excited with laser light. In the present experiment, laser excitation of the electron shell allowed measurements of relevant properties of the excited, isomeric nucleus. The corresponding cut-out from the chart of nuclei, which tabulates all known atomic nuclei, is visible in the background. The thorium-229 ground state is listed with its half-life of 7932 years. The half-life of the isomeric state is only 7 μs in the neutral atom, but >60 s for the ion, as this cannot emit a loosely-bound electron. The determined nuclear properties m and Q indicative of the charge distribution and shape are indicated as well.
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(Credit: Christoph Duellmann, JGU Mainz)
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