China Optical Clocks Achieves First-Ever Steering of International Atomic Time
The strontium optical lattice clock NTSC-Sr2, developed by the National Time Service Center was used as a secondary representation of the second to calibrate International Atomic Time (TAI), marking the first time that an optical clock from China has contributed to steering TAI.
On February 11, 2026, the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) released the latest issue of its Time Bulletin (Circular T 457). The strontium optical lattice clock NTSC-Sr2, developed by the National Time Service Center (NTSC) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, was used as a secondary representation of the second to calibrate International Atomic Time (TAI), marking the first ...
Feb 12, 2026