31 Dec 2020
10 - 9 - 8 - 7 - 6 - 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1. Happy New Year!
While the UK looks to Big Ben and the US have their Times Square pendulum, our New Year celebrations rely on pin point accurate timing. Now, a new kind of atomic clock, designed by MIT researchers, will enable even a half second off since the beginning of the Universe to seem like an unnecessary eternity. Entanglement-enhanced optical atomic clocks are no longer bound by the Standard Quantum Limit and will help enable physicists to decipher signals in the universe such as dark matter and gravitational waves.
Atomic clocks are the most precise timekeepers in the world. These exquisite instruments use lasers to measure the vibrations of atoms, which oscillate at a constant frequency, like many microscopic pendulums swinging in sync. The best atomic clocks in the world keep time with such precision that, if they had been running since the beginning of the universe, they would only be off by about half a second tod
New type of atomic clock keeps time even more precisely
December 19, 2020MIT
The design, which uses entangled atoms, could help scientists detect dark matter and study gravity’s effect on time.
Atomic clocks are the most precise timekeepers in the world. These exquisite instruments use lasers to measure the vibrations of atoms, which oscillate at a constant frequency, like many microscopic pendulums swinging in sync. The best atomic clocks in the world keep time with such precision that, if they had been running since the beginning of the universe, they would only be off by about half a second today.
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Atomic clocks are the most precise timekeepers in the world. These exquisite instruments use lasers to measure the vibrations of atoms, which oscillate at a constant frequency, like many microscopic pendulums swinging in sync. The best atomic clocks in the world keep time with such precision that, if they had been running since the beginning of the universe, they would only be off by about half a second today.
Still, they could be even more precise. If atomic clocks could more accurately measure atomic vibrations, they would be sensitive enough to detect phenomena such as dark matter and gravitational waves. With better atomic clocks, scientists could also start to answer some mind-bending questions, such as what effect gravity might have on the passage of time and whether time itself changes as the universe ages.
New type of atomic clock could help scientists detect dark matter and study gravity s effect on time phys.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from phys.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.