Quantum timekeeping is supposed to be the ultimate in efficiency, with tiny devices that tick using the rules of quantum mechanics instead of swinging pendulums or vibrating quartz. Yet new work on a ...

A study led by the University of Oxford has identified a surprising source of entropy in quantum timekeeping—the act of measurement itself. In a study published in Physical Review Letters, scientists ...

Scientists built a tiny clock from single-electron jumps to probe the true energy cost of quantum timekeeping. They discovered that reading the clock’s output requires vastly more energy than the ...

If you can read a traditional analog clock then congratulations, you’re smarter than artificial intelligence. AI is proving to be good at a lot of things, but reading an old-fashioned clock is not one ...

Just like writing cursive, it seems that reading an old-school analog clock is the sort of skill that has fallen by the wayside in our smartphone age. That lapse was revealed when NYC public schools ...

When used correctly, they can help us unpick some of the mysteries of our biology, and our mortality. Be honest: Have you ever looked up someone from your childhood on social media with the sole ...

The steady tick of a clock usually feels simple and dependable. Something swings or vibrates in a controlled rhythm and marks the passing of each moment. What you rarely notice is the hidden cost ...

Graphic illustrating the difference in energy between running a quantum clock (left: a single electron hopping between two nanoscale regions) and reading the ticks of the clock (right). The energy ...