'1,000x faster internet': New Chinese crystal breakthrough could make the world's GPS obsolete overnight

Date:
Sat, 18 Apr 2026 20:05:00 +0000

Description:
A new ultraviolet breakthrough improves laser precision, advancing nuclear clock research and opening possibilities for autonomous navigation in space and underwater environments.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Tech Radar Pro Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed! Become a Member in Seconds Unlock instant access to exclusive member features. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are
now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Join the club Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards. Explore An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter Nuclear clocks promise accuracy far beyond existing atomic timekeeping systems Thorium 229 offers a rare pathway to practical nuclear time measurement Ultraviolet breakthrough reduces one of
the hardest barriers in nuclear clock development A new crystal developed by Chinese scientists has broken the world record for ultraviolet light conversion, bringing nuclear clock technology closer to reality.

The fluorinated borate compound pushes laser light to a wavelength of
145.2nm, beating the previous benchmark of 150nm set by a Chinese crystal
from the 1990s. This wavelength is suitably short to meet a key requirement for ultra-precise portable nuclear clocks being developed in the United States, China, and other countries. Article continues below You may like '1 second in tens of billions of years': China's ultra-precise optical lattice clock gets international recognition as it challenges US hegemony on time UK spends 180 million to make sure it's telling the time correctly A new
approach to navigation could reduce reliance on GPS Nuclear clocks - a major upgrade to GPS Nuclear clocks keep time using vibrations inside an atomic nucleus rather than electron vibrations used in atomic clocks.

Atomic nuclei are far more stable than electrons and less affected by temperature, external vibration, and magnetic fields, meaning nuclear clocks could be 10 to 1,000 times more accurate than todays atomic clocks.

Such precision would enable navigation in places where GPS does not work, including deep space and underwater.

Submarines currently need to surface for GPS fixes, making them vulnerable to detection - so a nuclear clock could allow them to navigate freely underwater using dead reckoning based on speed, direction, and elapsed time. Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed! Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting
your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

The research team, led by Pan Shilie at the Xinjiang Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, turned to thorium 229 for its work.

This element is special because its nucleus vibrates at a very low energy level, making it relatively easy to monitor and measure.

However, measuring it requires extremely precise UV lasers with wavelengths around 148.3nm, which have been very hard to produce. What to read next This tiny device delivers 25Gbps internet speeds over invisible beams of light A new era for storage? Researchers crack world record for smallest QR code, which could be indefinitely durable and require no energy or cooling Chinese scientists aim to save Moores Law by mass-growing 2D materials that 'outclass silicon'

The new crystal converts laser light to 145.2nm, still short of the target
but a major step forward.

The team wrote that its work "paves the way for the practical development of the thorium 229 nuclear clock."

If the magic number is ever achieved, the crystal could also help missiles become immune to navigation jamming, an advantage during wartime.

For spacecraft, autonomous deep space navigation without Earth-based corrections would become possible, and signals from stars, pulsars, and radio sources could also serve as navigation aids.

The work also offers a new way to design next-generation deep ultraviolet materials for various applications.

In theory, the extreme precision of nuclear clocks could enable far tighter network synchronization, potentially leading to faster internet speeds in future systems.

However, such clocks will likely not render GPS entirely redundant but will help reduce reliance on these systems if perfected.

GPS can be jammed or spoofed with fake signals, making it vulnerable during wartime, and it does not work well underwater or underground. A thorium nuclear clock would address all these limitations. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.



======================================================================
Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/1-000x-faster-internet-new-chinese-crystal-break through-could-make-the-worlds-gps-obsolete-overnight


--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 (Linux/64)
* Origin: tqwNet Technology News (1337:1/100)