All Articles Tagged As: atomic clocks

New record for measurement of atomic lifetime (9/15/2011)

Researchers at the Niels Bohr Institute have measured the lifetime of an extremely stable energy level of magnesium atoms with great precision. Magnesium atoms are used in research with ultra-precise atomic clocks. The new measurements show a lifetime of 2050 seconds, which corresponds to approximately ½ hour. This is the longest lifetime ever measured in a laboratory. ...> Full Article

The atomic clock with the world's best long-term accuracy is revealed after evaluation (8/31/2011)

A clock in the UK is the most accurate long-term timekeeper in the world, reveals a study by an international science team. ...> Full Article

Drive test: Super-stable laser shines in minivan experiment (5/14/2011)

In a step toward taking the most advanced atomic clocks on the road, NIST physicists have designed and demonstrated a super-stable laser operating in a cramped, vibrating location -- a minivan. ...> Full Article

World's smallest atomic clock on sale (5/6/2011)

A matchbook-sized atomic clock 100 times smaller than its commercial predecessors has been created by researchers. The portable Chip Scale Atomic Clock -- only about 1.5 inches on a side and less than a half-inch in depth -- also requires 100 times less power than its predecessors. Instead of 10 watts, it uses only 100 milliwatts. "It's the difference between lugging around a device powered by a car battery and one powered by two AA batteries," said Sandia lead investigator Darwin Serkland. ...> Full Article

Quantum quirk: Scientists pack atoms together to prevent collisions in atomic clock (2/10/2011)

In a paradox typical of the quantum world, JILA scientists have eliminated collisions between atoms in an atomic clock by packing the atoms closer together. The surprising discovery can boost the performance of experimental atomic clocks made of thousands or tens of thousands of neutral atoms trapped by intersecting laser beams. ...> Full Article

Second 'quantum logic clock' based on aluminum ion is now world's most precise clock (2/7/2010)

Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology have built an enhanced version of an experimental atomic clock based on a single aluminum atom that is now the world's most precise clock, more than twice as precise as the previous pacesetter based on a mercury atom. The new aluminum clock would neither gain nor lose one second in about 3.7 billion years, according to measurements to be reported in Physical Review Letters. ...> Full Article

From now on, 4 PTB primary atomic clocks will contribute to UTC (12/27/2009)

The new caesium fountain clock CSF2 is admitted into the exclusive international club of primary clocks. ...> Full Article

Ytterbium gains ground in quest for next-generation atomic clocks (8/17/2009)

NIST physicists have improved an experimental atomic clock based on ytterbium atoms, which now about four times more accurate than it was several years ago, giving it a precision comparable to that of the NIST-F1 cesium fountain clock. ...> Full Article

Ytterbium's broken symmetry (7/24/2009)

The largest parity violations ever measured in an atom ...> Full Article

Goal: developing the best atomic clock in the world (6/3/2009)

They are masters at working with light: the scientists at the newly founded QUEST Institute at the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, Braunschweig. And they want to work on some of the most exciting questions relating to physics today: on unimaginably precise methods of measurement for observing the Earth, on the pressing question of the fundamentals of physics, of whether the fundamental constants are really constant, and on the development of the best atomic clock in the world made of a single aluminium atom. ...> Full Article

A step closer to an ultra precise atomic clock (4/17/2009)

A clock that is so precise that it loses only a second every 300 million years -- this is the result of new research in ultra cold atoms. The international collaboration is comprised of researchers from the University of Colorado and the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen and the results have just been published in the prestigious scientific journal Science. ...> Full Article

'Quantum logic clock' rivals mercury ion as world's most accurate clock (3/9/2008)

Comparison yields best results yet in tests for change in 'constants' of nature ...> Full Article

New Experimental Atomic Clock Surpasses Accuracy Of Current U.S. Standard Time Clock (2/15/2008)

A next-generation atomic clock developed by researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the University of Colorado at Boulder has been shown to be accurate to within one second over 200 million years, surpassing the accuracy of the current U.S. time standard atomic clock more than two-fold. ...> Full Article