A new optical clock that is twice as accurate as any other has been unveiled by physicists in the US. The clock, which is based on a single aluminum ion, could remain accurate to within one second over 3.7 billion years. The previous record was held by a clock with one mercury ion, which was good to one second in 1.7 billion years.
The new optical clock also differs from most other designs in that it uses a quantum-information protocol. It could therefore be used to further boost the performance of such clocks and ultimately lead to them replacing atomic clocks as our official timekeepers.
Since the first atomic clock was unveiled in 1955, the technology has been used in national time standards around the world. Tiny atomic clocks, which use microwaves to probe atomic transitions, are also used as timepieces on Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites. The best atomic clocks have an accuracy of about 5 × 10–15, but this has been surpassed recently by optical clocks, which use light rather than microwaves and can be more than 100 times as accurate.
The new optical clock also differs from most other designs in that it uses a quantum-information protocol. It could therefore be used to further boost the performance of such clocks and ultimately lead to them replacing atomic clocks as our official timekeepers.
Since the first atomic clock was unveiled in 1955, the technology has been used in national time standards around the world. Tiny atomic clocks, which use microwaves to probe atomic transitions, are also used as timepieces on Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites. The best atomic clocks have an accuracy of about 5 × 10–15, but this has been surpassed recently by optical clocks, which use light rather than microwaves and can be more than 100 times as accurate.
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