Researchers at the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed an atomic clock that surpasses the precision and accuracy of any previously created timepiece.
The clock utilizes an "optical lattice" to trap and measure tens of thousands of atoms simultaneously, enhancing its precision.
It can enable pinpoint navigation in space, can be used for searches for new particles, reveal hidden mineral deposits, and test fundamental theories like general relativity with unprecedented rigor.
The international unit of time, the second, may be redefined based on these next-generation optical atomic clocks, which use visible light waves to count the second more precisely than microwave clocks.
Optical clocks are expected to lose only one second every 30 billion years, making them much more accurate for international timekeeping and having significant implications.
The clock's precision can detect tiny effects predicted by theories such as general relativity, even at the microscopic scale, as general relativity states that time is affected by gravity, with stronger gravitational fields causing time to pass slower.
Clocks with higher precision are crucial for landing spacecraft with pinpoint accuracy on distant planets like Mars.
Sources: scienmag, phys.org, foreignaffairs.co.nz, miragenews, nist.gov
This article was written in collaboration with Generative AI news company Alchemiq.
