Jun Ye, a physicist at the University of Colorado Boulder and the US National Institute of Standards and Technology, described that level of uncertainty as “amazing.”
Aims to optical atomic clocks portable manual#
The Chinese space station manual and international collaboration resources state that the clock’s goal uncertainty in orbit is also 10-18. Satellite navigation and internet time are impossible without atomic clocks- Science Photo Library.Īccording to the National Time Service Centre website, testing on the ground started in late April. However, the team is still awaiting the results of a crucial test to determine how well it would function in space. Positioning can be incorrect by more than one meter with a timing error of just a few billionths of a second.Īccording to the scientist associated with the project, the Chinese atomic clock has already attained quintillionth-second precision, or 10-18 uncertainty in technical words on the ground. It potentially indicates that the “precision clock” would have a dual-use purpose which makes sense given the rapid militarization of space by major space powers.Īdvanced missiles, sensors, aircraft, ships, and artillery use atomic clocks aboard GPS satellites to provide nanosecond timing accuracy. In addition to facilitating quicker communications and improved navigation, optical atomic clocks are crucial for maintaining national security. The movement of the electrons surrounding these atoms as they absorb and then release energy from a laser is used to detect the passage of time through microwaves. Over the next few years, the Chinese optical atomic clock will also establish a timekeeping network with the BeiDou navigation satellites and ground-based time services, which is anticipated to increase accuracy by at least four orders of magnitude.Ītoms of the isotope cesium-133 are commonly used in atomic clocks. It is usually used to provide navigation services to people on earth. It uses the resonance frequencies of atoms as its resonator, as opposed to a pendulum clock, which keeps time by counting the “ticks” of its resonators using a pendulum and gears. The optical atomic clock could be a game-changer for military and civilian applications because it is intended to achieve the precision of one quintillionth of a second, comparable to losing or gaining one second every 30 billion years, Hong-Kong-based South China Morning Post reported.Ītomic clocks are timepieces that monitor the resonance of atom frequencies, often cesium or rubidium atoms which allows these clocks to measure time quite precisely.Īn atomic clock calculates how long it takes for a signal to go from one object to another to evaluate the distance between them. In what could be another milestone for the Chinese Space Station and its space agency, Tiangong could soon have the most ‘precise clock’ in orbit if it passes a technical test scheduled for the following week, according to an unnamed scientist familiar with the project. Chasing A UFO! Fighter Jets Scrambled To Hunt A Mysterious ‘Alien Aircraft’ In One Of World’s Most Intriguing Events From The Past
It will be the only country to have its own space station and perhaps the only one in the world after the International Space Station (ISS) retires sometime at the end of this decade. China is set to make history when it finally completes the construction of its Space Station ‘Tiangong’ and makes it operational this year.
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