Rubidium clocks are the most compact method of atomic time keeping. These are commonly used on satellites.
amazing atomic clocks
Atomic clocks are accurate to within one second since the period in time when humans and apes diverged.
These clocks are literally what makes modern civilization tick, but few people ever see one. Their accuracy is necessary to overcome potential errors caused by relativistic effects in GPS satellites, for example.
Here is a gallery of some of the more interesting atomic clocks. Vote for your faves.
| Chart permalink: |
Believe it or not but amateur time keeping is a growing hobby in the U.S. Picture is a homemade Caesium clock wherein atoms are fired through the barrel and measured at the other side. Pretty cool considering most atomic clocks are outrageously big in size and price.
Employed in 1970, this massive wrist watch was part of the Greenwich Time Service. It relayed its signals to other clocks via radio waves to establish an average.
The NIST-F1 is currently the nation's standard for time and frequency. It's one of the most accurate clocks in the world and will only gain or lose a second in 20 million years. All this just to keep you from missing your dentists appointment.
This crazy looking planetary incinerator/atomic clock is kept in the National Institute of Standards and Technology and only gains or loses a second every 200,000 years.
As one of the cooler looking atomic clocks, the NIST-7 went online in 1993. It was about 20 times more accurate than its predecessor.
When this steam-engine-like apparatus was built in 1953, it wasn't accurate enough to replace the standard time keeping methods.
Who knew HP even made atomic clocks? This model was worth $60,000 when it was made in 1967 but now you can have it accurately setting all the clocks in your house for only $5k. The one in the auction still works.
Created in 1955 the Caesium atomic clock was the most accurate of its time, only going off by a second approximately every 300 years. Today's atomic clocks stay accurate for up to 20 million years.
As the predecessor to the NIST-7, it was 20 times less accurate. That doesn't stop it from looking cool though.
