By YOKO HIBINO/ Staff Writer
April 6, 2025 at 07:00 JST
Aether Clock, a compact optical lattice clock developed by Shimadzu Corp., is shown on March 5 in Seika, Kyoto Prefecture. (Yoko Hibino)
Precision equipment manufacturer Shimadzu Corp. said it has created the world’s most accurate time device: a clock that won’t deviate by 1 second even after operating for 10 billion years.
According to the Kyoto-based company, its compact optical lattice timepiece, released on March 5, is a kind of strontium atom clock.
Using a specialized laser beam called the “magic wavelength,” the clock confines atoms within a lattice structure like eggs in a carton.
The purpose is to suppress atomic vibrations and minimize time deviations.
The optical lattice clock, which carries a price tag of 500 million yen ($3.3 million), is up to 100 times more precise than the cesium atomic clock that is currently used for time definition.
But super accuracy is not the only function of Shimadzu’s device.
Hidetoshi Katori, a physical engineering professor at the University of Tokyo, proposed the idea for the optical lattice clock and tested it at Tokyo Skytree in 2018 with his colleagues.
The experiment was inspired by Albert Einstein (1879-1955), whose general theory of relativity suggests that the farther one is from Earth’s center, the weaker gravity becomes and the faster time elapses.
Katori’s team set up the optical lattice clock on the tower’s observation deck and at ground level, successfully detecting and recording the time difference between the two locations.
The technology to accurately measure time deviations from varying levels of gravity is expected to eventually help detect early signs of earthquakes and volcanic activity by observing the vertical displacement of crustal plates, even by a single centimeter.
Named Aether Clock by Katori, the compact optical lattice timepiece has a volume of 250 liters and weighs 200 kilograms--about a quarter of the size of the one tested at Tokyo Skytree--for easier transport.
Shimadzu plans to sell 10 units over the next three years. It said it has already received inquiries from research institutions both in and outside Japan.
“Optical lattice clocks hold great potential in earthquake prediction and other such fields,” said Naohiro Nishimoto, director of Shimadzu’s Technology Research Laboratory, at a news conference. “We will be making continuous contributions to technological advancements in the science community.”
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