The scientists building a clock so accurate it could redefine the second
The second – the modern world’s most fundamental unit of time – is up for a refresh. This opens up new technological possibilities, and raises some philosophical questions along the way
By Rob Waugh
When you?re just trying to ensure you?re not late for your 9am meeting, a watch that might lose a second or two here or there is perfectly adequate. But sometimes you need a little more accuracy. And let’s face it
In a building outside London is a room-sized clock so accurate that it would have only lost or gained a second if it had been ticking since the beginning of the universe, 13.7 billion years ago. The ?pendulum? is a strontium atom, and the clock in the National Physics Laboratory in Teddington (and other clocks like it) could eventually redefine the official definition of a second. In labs around the world, scientists are working to create new versions of the optical atomic clock, and connect existing ones into a global network for even higher accuracy. The clocks could enable new and world-changing technologies, such as gravity sensors and GPS accurate down to a centimetre. Such clocks could even help humanity weather the devastating effects of a solar flare, by helping networks to synchronise without the help of satellites.
The National Physics Laboratory in Teddington
In the future, optical atomic clocks will change the official way we define a second, says Dr. Rachel Godun, Senior Research Scientist in the Ti...
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