dgacmu pointed readers to the Nature paper behind the story and writtenone posted a no-paywall archive. Several commenters emphasized why a nuclear clock is attractive: soltanov explained that locking to a nuclear transition avoids outer‑electron sensitivity to stray electromagnetic noise and so should reduce environmental drift. pclowes questioned how researchers can validate a clock claimed accurate to "2 seconds in 65 million years" without an even better reference; lefra answered that experimental teams sum uncertainties of intermediate measurements and choose unit realizations carefully, noting time's foundational role among SI units. Soltanov added that frequency combs and relative beat notes against optical lattice clocks are used to measure precision.
Others debated thorium’s origin, abundance and radiation role. Austin‑cheney said thorium is rare in the galaxy but relatively abundant in Earth’s crust, while moring pointed out that potassium‑40 contributes far more to background radiation than thorium. Fsh noted the specific isotope used, 229Th, has an ~8,000‑year half‑life and isn’t naturally occurring in usable form. Fnordpiglet chimed in on nucleosynthesis, saying elements heavier than iron form in supernovae or neutron‑star collisions. The conversation therefore split between technical measurement methods and differing takes on thorium’s prevalence and radiological significance.
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LSD increases alpha and beta peak frequencies and reduces oscillatory power while also flattening the spectral slope and enhancing neural fractality. These changes predominantly affect sensory, language, emotion, and imagery networks, as revealed by MEG and machine learning analyses. (nature.com)
Claude Code was used to identify a previously unknown planet. Access to the Reddit post is blocked by network security. (reddit.com)
OpenAI's GitHub math repository has withdrawn three manuscripts related to algebraic geometry and the Hodge conjecture. The repository now formalizes about 42% of the top-line results and will continue to be updated with new formalizations and corrections. (twitter.com)
PTB and TU Wien researchers achieved a breakthrough in developing a nuclear clock based on thorium-229, the first of its kind. They used a compact laser to excite the atom's nucleus, potentially leading to more precise timekeeping devices. (eurekalert.org)
Moore's Law has slowed as physical and economic limits hinder semiconductor progress, leading to Eroom's Law, which describes declining productivity in drug discovery. Power constraints are a key factor in this slowdown across technological fields. (papers.ssrn.com)
Margaret Hamilton, who led the software development for the Apollo moon missions, died at age 90. She spent over two decades at MIT and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her pioneering work in computer science and engineering. (news.mit.edu)
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