Redefining the Second: Japan’s Staggeringly Precise Optical Lattice Clock Promises Wealth of Real-World Applications

A three-dimensional model showing atoms trapped in the laser-beam “egg crate” of an optical lattice clock. (© Jiji)

Professor Katori Hidetoshi of the University of Tokyo at a May 12, 2026, press conference in Kawasaki announcing an agreement with the International Bureau of Weights and Measures to evaluate the optical lattice clock as a candidate for redefining the second. (© Jiji)

Summary of the Tokyo Skytree experiment. (Courtesy of Professor Katori Hidetoshi, University of Tokyo)