People have some kind of irresistible pull to an accurate definition of time. Expensive brand watches are famous for high-precision mechanisms that provide minimum error. But in science all the same accuracy matters and, as a rule, for the most accurate measurements used in atomic clocks. But there are more exotic variations of the latter. For example, the optical clock.
For developing the most accurate to date optical clock is a group of researchers from Adelaide University together with the specialists Cryoclock. For her scientists were awarded the Eureka Prizes, the Museum of the same name established for achievements in the field of new research and innovation. The watch received the name of Cryogenic sapphire oscillator (Cryogenic Sapphire Oscillator).
In the “classical” atomic clock as a reference used a recurring event, which are oscillations of the cesium atom. The new watch is designed in the following way: a sapphire resonator hours, cooled to ultralow temperature, and then begins to emit shabolovsky signal with minimal background noise. This signal is used as a “reference system”. “Clean” the signal from extraneous noise gives the possibility to very accurately count the time. And, according to scientists, they are wrong no more than 1 second in 40 million years. About application hours said project leader Professor Andre Luten,
“High precision sapphire watches provides a huge potential for modernisation of the defence radar system Jindalee Over-The-Horizon Radar Network (JORN), which controls the airspace of Australia. But in addition to JORN there is a peaceful application of technology. For example, the watch can provide a more stable signal for tracking systems for outer space. High accuracy will allow to track small objects at large distances.”
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Presents the most accurate optical clocks today
Vladimir Kuznetsov