ArticlesBase.com - Free Articles Directory
Free Online Articles Directory
07.10.2008 Sign In Register Hello Guest
Email:
Password:
Remember Me 
forgot your password?


Atomic Clocks: History and Development

Author: Richard n Williams Author Ranking Silver | Posted: 08-07-2008 | Comments: 0 | Views: 28 | Rating:  (100) Article Popularity - Blue (?) Got a Question? Ask.
Sign Up Now!

Atomic clocks have been with us for over fifty years now and most people have heard of them and know they are very accurate, but how accurate are they and why do we need such accurate clocks?

Atomic clocks are used by many of us even if we are not aware of it. The time they tell is relayed around the world and picked up by time servers using the protocol NTP to synchronise networks, they are vital for lots of technologies, such as global satellite navigation, and TV signal timings.

Before the development of the atomic clock the most precise timekeeping devices were electronic clocks which would lose a second or two every week. These had largely replaced mechanical clocks which were less accurate still.

Mankind has always had a fascination for keeping track of the time but knowing the precise time has never been too important. A second or even a minute’s difference does not affect our day-to-day lives.

However, as technology has advanced the need for more precise timekeeping has increased. Satellites that have to be navigated and communicate with the Earth from hundred, thousands and even millions of miles away require exact timing. Light and therefore radio waves can travel 300,000 km every second so slight inaccuracies in time can have massive differences.

The first accurate atomic clock was built y Britain’s National Physical Laboratory in 1955 by Dr Louis Essen who based his clock around the oscillation of the caesium -133 atom. The idea was actually first conceived as far back as 1879 when Lord Kelvin proposed that time-keeping based on how atoms behaved would be a better way to count time intervals than anything else.

The first generation of atomic clocks (also known as caesium oscillators) used the frequency of this atom which oscillates 9,192,631,770 times every second. Essen’s model was accurate to a second every 300 years but developments of the caesium oscillator mean they can now achieve accuracies of one second every 80 million years.

Yet as technologies get more advanced, scientists strive to make better and more accurate clocks. Rubidium standard clocks offer no better accuracy than caesium models but are smaller and cost less (caesium oscillators are generally only to be found in large-scale physics laboratories).

Clocks using just a single atom have been developed that offer even more accuracy. A clock based on a single mercury atom has achieved accuracies of one second in 400 million years and it is expected that a new type of strontium clock that uses light will go even better.

The future for atomic clocks is ever increasing accuracy combined with scaling down the size and cost of them. The American National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have unveiled a chip-sized atomic clock that boasts millisecond accuracy.

Atomic clocks are now part and parcel of our lives without the time signals they transmit to the world that are picked up by NTP servers modern communication from Internet shopping and GPS and technological advances such as satellite navigation would become impossible.

Rate this Article: Current: 0 / 5 stars - 0 vote(s).

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/networks-articles/atomic-clocks-history-and-development-476070.html

Print this Article Print article   Email to a Friend Send to friend   Publish this Article on your Website Publish this Article   Send Author Feedback Author feedback  
About the Author:

Richard N Williams is a technical author and specialist in atomic clocks, telecommunications, NTP and network time synchronisation helping to develop dedicated NTP clocks. Please visit us for more information about atomic clocks or other network time server solutions.

Submitting articles has become one of the most popular means of generating quality backlinks and targeted traffic to your website. Join us today - It's Free!

Article Comments

Comment on this article Comment on this article
Your Name
Your Email:
Comment Body
Enter Validation Code: Captcha


Got a Question? Ask.

Ask the community a question about this article:

Q&A Powered by:
Powered by Yedda 

Latest Networks Articles

Learn About Network Switches and Hubs
By: M. Aslam | 02/10/2008
Switch has replaced the bridge in the modern network, which is replacing routers in many instances as well. A switch is a box with multiple cable jacks in it that looks a lot like a hub. Some manufacturers have hubs and switches of various sizes that are all but identical in appearance. The difference between a hub and a switch is that while a hub forwards every incoming packet out via all ports, a switch forwards each incoming packet only to the port that offers access to the destination system.

The Atomic Clock and the Ntp Time Server
By: Richard n Williams | 01/10/2008
Atomic clocks, their accuracy and precision

Network Time Server Faq
By: Richard n Williams | 01/10/2008
Some NTP and tiem server FAQ's

The Caio Review - Geo's Perspective
By: David Roger | 30/09/2008
Last week saw the publication of Francesco Caio's Final Report into Next Generation Access which was commissioned by the Government in February [link to the full document on the BERR website here].

Know Your Online Visitors Through Virtual Chat System
By: Ankurpatel | 26/09/2008
Do you believe that – by knowing your prospective customers more, you can win more business from them? If yes, continue to read and we will show you the ways to know more about your online visitors.

Network Time Server – Choosing Your Time Reference
By: Richard n Williams | 24/09/2008
sources of UTC time

Accuracy in Timekeeping – Atomic Clocks and Time Servers
By: Richard n Williams | 24/09/2008
The development of atomic clocks

Ntp Time Server Frequently Asked Questions
By: Richard n Williams | 24/09/2008
Frequently Asked Questions

More from Richard n Williams

The Atomic Clock and the Ntp Time Server
By: Richard n Williams | 01/10/2008 | Networks
Atomic clocks, their accuracy and precision

Network Time Server Faq
By: Richard n Williams | 01/10/2008 | Networks
Some NTP and tiem server FAQ's

Network Time Server – Choosing Your Time Reference
By: Richard n Williams | 24/09/2008 | Networks
sources of UTC time

Accuracy in Timekeeping – Atomic Clocks and Time Servers
By: Richard n Williams | 24/09/2008 | Networks
The development of atomic clocks

Ntp Time Server Frequently Asked Questions
By: Richard n Williams | 24/09/2008 | Networks
Frequently Asked Questions

Le Serveur Ntp – Un Guide Pour Débutants
By: Richard n Williams | 23/09/2008 | Networks
La synchronisation du temps est un des aspects les plus importants mais il est souvent négligé ce qui peut engendrer des conséquences désastreuses.

Network Time Protocol (ntp), Understanding Synchronisation
By: Richard n Williams | 22/09/2008 | Networks
importance of synchronization

Ntp Server - Receiving a Time Source
By: Richard n Williams | 22/09/2008 | Networks
This article explores the best methods of receiving UTC time.

Article Categories






Give Feedback

Sign up for our email newsletter

Receive updates, enter your email below