➀ Researchers are developing nuclear batteries that could last for decades or even millennia without recharging, offering a promising alternative to lithium-ion batteries.

➁ The technology uses carbon-14, a radioactive isotope of carbon, which emits beta particles that can be safely shielded with thin materials.

➂ By enhancing the energy conversion efficiency through a titanium dioxide-based semiconductor sensitized with a ruthenium-based dye, the researchers achieved a significant increase in efficiency from 0.48% to 2.86%.

➀ Researchers at JILA and the Technical University of Vienna have discovered a resonant mode in thorium atom nuclei with a low temperature coefficient, which could be a replacement for atomic oscillators in national-level frequency standards.

➁ The preferred isotope is 229mTh, which has nuclear resonances in the ultraviolet, accessible by lasers.

➂ The team found a transition with almost cancelled effects, shifting only 62kHz across the measurement range, showing great promise for precision timekeeping.