NASA's Got the Time
If the old cesium and rubidium clocks
were not accurate enough for you, contact NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Their
newest design is a low-friction model. It seems previous containers of the ionized
atoms used to gauge the passage of time would rob energy from the atomic system,
thereby introducing errors. The new device uses an ion trapping field, which holds
a wad of ionized mercury atoms in a near frictionless volume for a more perfect
count. You can set your watch by this one; it is accurate to within one minute every
10 billion years.
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