The Newest, Most Accurate Clock Uses Quantum Gas, Lasers

Researchers have created the world’s most accurate clock by combining strontium atoms, a “quantum gas,” and various lasers. (Credit: G.E. Marti/JILA) Time, I’m sure I don’t have to tell you, is a fundamental part of the universe. Albert Einstein showed us it was inextricably linked to the “stuff” of the universe, so the better we can understand and measure it, the better we can study everything else. So how do you study time? With better clocks! And researchers announced today they’ve come up with the best one yet.Time Enough At Last Far from the sundials and cogs of our ancestors, today’s horological devices are ridiculously cutting edge, exploiting the inherent “ticks” of atoms as they switch between quantum energy levels. There’s also lasers. Up until today, the world record holder for keeping time was held by physicists at JILA, a joint institute between the University of Colorado Boulder the National ...