Made-in-China clock loses a second in twice the age of the universe

South China Morning PostCenter-RightEN 1 min read 100% complete by Ling XinMarch 21, 2026 at 07:00 AM

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short article 1 min

A team at the University of Science and Technology of China, led by Pan Jianwei, has developed a highly precise strontium optical clock. This clock is so accurate that it would only lose or gain one second in 30 billion years, exceeding the precision threshold needed to redefine the second. The clock's stability and uncertainty parameters place it among the top timekeeping devices globally, alongside those in the US and Germany. Published in Metrologia this month, this achievement positions China to potentially lead in redefining the second and developing more advanced optical clocks. The technology paves the way for advancements in fundamental physics research, satellite navigation, and the creation of a unified global time standard.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Metrologia 30% Germany 40% Hefei 40% United States 40% CCTV ×250% National Institute of Standards and Technology 50% Dai Hanning ×260% University of Science and Technology of China 60% Pan Jianwei ×270% China ×490%

Keywords

optical clock 100% timekeeping 80% precision 70% china 70% strontium 60% second redefinition 60% time standard 50% university of science and technology of china 40% satellite navigation 40%

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Very Positive

Score: 0.70

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Source

South China Morning Post

Political Lean

Center-Right (0.50)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

Geographic Perspective

China

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

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optical clock timekeeping precision china strontium second redefinition time standard university of science and technology of china satellite navigation

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