News tagged with atomic clock

Redefining time

Atomic clocks based on the oscillations of a cesium atom keep amazingly steady time and also define the precise length of a second. But cesium clocks are no longer the most accurate. That title has been transferred ...

Physics / General Physics

created Apr 30, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (7) | comments 41 | with audio podcast

Atomic clock comparison via data highways

(Phys.org) -- Optical atomic clocks measure time with unprecedented accuracy. However, it is the ability to compare clocks with one another that makes them applicable for high-precision tests in fundamental ...

Physics / General Physics

created Apr 27, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 3 | with audio podcast

NASA to fly atomic clock to improve space navigation

(Phys.org) -- When people think of space technologies, many think of high-tech solar panels, complex and powerful propulsion systems or sophisticated, electronic guidance systems. Another critical piece of ...

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Apr 11, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

No-photon laser: Physicists demonstrate 'superradiant' laser design

Physicists at JILA have demonstrated a novel "superradiant" laser design, which has the potential to be 100 to 1,000 times more stable than the best conventional visible lasers. This type of laser could boost ...

Physics / Optics & Photonics

created Apr 04, 2012 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (14) | comments 7 | with audio podcast

The tick-tock of the optical clock

(PhysOrg.com) -- UK's National Physical Laboratory time scientists have made an accurate measurement of the highly forbidden octupole transition frequency in an ytterbium ion, which could be used as the basis ...

Physics / General Physics

created Mar 29, 2012 | popularity 3.8 / 5 (10) | comments 3 | with audio podcast

Darpa chip-scale atomic clocks aboard International Space Station

Atomic clocks are the most accurate frequency standard and timing devices in the world. Their range of uses include being the international standard for timekeeping, managing broadcasts and satellite positioning, ...

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Mar 28, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Ultracold matter technology licensed to Boulder’s ColdQuanta

ColdQuanta Inc. of Boulder and the University of Colorado have finalized an agreement allowing ColdQuanta to commercialize cutting-edge physics research developed by CU-Boulder and SRI International. The licensed ...

Physics / General Physics

created Mar 19, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

New 'pendulum' for the ytterbium clock

The faster a clock ticks, the more precise it can be. Due to the fact that lightwaves vibrate faster than microwaves, optical clocks can be more precise than the caesium atomic clocks which presently determine ...

Physics / General Physics

created Mar 09, 2012 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (11) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Proposed nuclear clock may keep time with the Universe

(PhysOrg.com) -- A proposed new time-keeping system tied to the orbiting of a neutron around an atomic nucleus could have such unprecedented accuracy that it neither gains nor loses 1/20th of a second in 14 ...

Physics / General Physics

created Mar 08, 2012 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (27) | comments 11 | with audio podcast

Precision time: A matter of atoms, clocks, and statistics

Time is of the essence, especially in communications, navigation, and electric power distribution, which all demand nanosecond precision or better. Keeping these beating hearts of technology in near-perfect global synchronization ...

Physics / General Physics

created Feb 01, 2012 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Physicists create first 'frequency comb' to probe ultraviolet wavelengths

Physicists at JILA have created the first "frequency comb" in the extreme ultraviolet band of the spectrum, high-energy light less than 100 nanometers (nm) in wavelength. Laser-generated frequency combs are the most accurate ...

Physics / General Physics

created Feb 01, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (6) | comments 4 | with audio podcast

World timekeepers split on scrapping leap second

Timekeepers meeting in Geneva failed to agree Thursday on a proposal to abolish a 40-year-old practice of adding the occasional second to world time.

Technology / Telecom

created Jan 19, 2012 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (2) | comments 9

'Leap second' under the gun at Geneva time talks

Timekeepers gathered in Geneva on Thursday to thrash out a contested proposal to abolish a 40-year-old practice of adding the occasional second to world time.

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Jan 19, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 3

Countries consider time out on the 'leap second'

It's high noon for the humble leap second. After ten years of talks, governments are headed for a showdown vote this week on an issue that pits technological precision against nature's whims.

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Jan 17, 2012 | popularity 3 / 5 (2) | comments 18

The nuclear, biological and climate threat - 2011 reviewed

In this special issue of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, published by SAGE, experts reflect on 2011 and highlight what to look out for in 2012 in the areas of nuclear energy, nuclear weapons, biosecurity, and climat ...

Technology / Energy & Green Tech

created Jan 06, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 1