Discover Top Posts Tagged with #atomic clock

Popular Recent

There's a new record holder for the most accurate clock in the world. Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIS

There's a new record holder for the most accurate clock in the world. Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have improved their atomic clock based on a trapped aluminum ion. Part of the latest wave of optical atomic clocks, it can perform timekeeping with 19 decimal places of accuracy. Optical clocks are typically evaluated on two levels—accuracy (how close a clock comes to measuring the ideal "true" time, also known as systematic uncertainty) and stability (how efficiently a clock can measure time, related to statistical uncertainty). This new record in accuracy comes out of 20 years of continuous improvement of the aluminum ion clock. Beyond its world-best accuracy, 41% greater than the previous record, this new clock is also 2.6 times more stable than any other ion clock. Reaching these levels has meant carefully improving every aspect of the clock, from the laser to the trap and the vacuum chamber.

#Atomic clock #Clocks #TIme #Chemistry #Physics #science #stem

10:42 AM EDT May 21, 2026:

Monster Magnet - "Atomic Clock" From the album Powertrip (June 16, 1998)

Last song scrobbled from iTunes at Last.fm

#Monster Magnet #Powertrip #Atomic Clock

Caesium is the softest element that is solid at room temperature, with a hardness of 0.2 Mohs (for reference, the graphite in pencils is between 1-2 Mohs). The standard unit of time, the second, is defined by the electromagnetic oscillation of caesium-133 atoms.

#periodic table #elements #caesium #cesium #atomic clock #chemistry #education #art

‘Time is a funny old thing. It never agrees to move backwards but it does insist on always moving forward. It ebbs and flows nonlinearly, galloping off when we want more of it, and resists movement when we want it to swiftly pass by.’

An atomic clock designed to enable self-driving spaceships and GPS-like navigation on other planets is about to take a yearlong test flight.

Traveling the solar system could one day be as easy as taking a bus to work. Scientists envision self-driving spaceships ferrying astronauts through deep space, and GPS-like systems guiding visitors across the terrains of other planets and moons. But for those futuristic navigation schemes, spacecraft and satellites would need to be equipped with clocks that keep time with extreme precision — more precise than any timepiece ever sent to space.

A prototype of that clock is scheduled to launch on June 24 for a test flight.

NASA’s Deep Space Atomic Clock, or DSAC for short, counts off the seconds with ticks that are about 50 times more uniform than those of atomic clocks onboard GPS satellites. That’s on par with the ground-based atomic clocks used for the agency’s Deep Space Network — the cadre of earthbound facilities that use radio antennas to communicate with missions throughout the solar system. But unlike those refrigerator-sized timepieces, the toaster-sized DSAC is small enough to carry aboard a spacecraft.

Outfitted on future spaceships or satellites, this mini atomic clock could “completely change the way we navigate spacecraft through deep space,” Jill Seubert, deputy principal investigator for the project, said June 10 in a news conference.

After the prototype launches from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Fla., researchers will monitor its performance in low-Earth orbit for one year. Here’s a preview of what the clock could mean for future spacefaring.

ALL ABOARD Engineers fit the Deep Space Atomic Clock and other instruments on the Orbital Test Bed Satellite, scheduled to launch June 24 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Fla. CREDIT: GENERAL ATOMICS

#science #scied #sciblr #atomic clock #space travel #space #physics

New larger Atomic Starburst Clock in 1:6th scale with real metal spikes.

Miniatures from Avalon

#MCM #Mid-century modern #mid century modern miniature #barbie accessories #barbie decor #barbie clock #one sixth scale #1:6 #Atomic clock #starburst clock #Miniatures from Avalon #Etsy

SpaceX’s next mission for its Falcon Heavy high-capacity rocket is set for June 24, when it’ll take off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida with 20 satellites on board that comprise the Department of Defense’s Space Test Program-2. That’s not all it’ll ca…

#nasa #seep space #atomic clock #spacex #falcon heavy #rocket #launch #mission #stp-2 #space test program

Space is getting an atomic clock

In our preparation to go to Mars, there is one issue scientists are trying to solve - how can astronauts navigate themselves when they are going deeper into space than ever before?

Right now, spacecrafts are 100% controlled by mission control on Earth. Only scientists on Earth can tell the location of our spacecrafts in space. Astronauts are dependent on receiving directions from giant antenna on Earth broadcasting the information to them. But there is a problem - the further away they are, the longer is the delay in the communication. So, this would make it very difficult for astronauts to land on Mars when there is a delay and they need to make slight adjustments in order to not miss the planet completely. So how are they planning to fix this?

WITH AN ATOMIC CLOCK IN SPACE! Basically, this would allow spacecrafts to navigate themselves, would get rid of that need for two-way communication and in short - it would be like getting a GPS on other planets.