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Atomic Clocks

Atomic Clock News

These stories highlight advances in atomic clock science at NIST.

NIST Atomic Clocks Now Keep Time Well Enough to Improve Models of Earth

November 28, 2018

Experimental atomic clocks at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have achieved three new performance records, now ticking precisely

JILA Researchers See Signs of Interactive Form of Quantum Matter

October 31, 2018

JILA researchers have, for the first time, isolated groups of a few atoms and precisely measured their multi-particle interactions within an atomic clock. The

Cartoon with man standing on falling blue cube representing Earth, decorated with clumps of clock faces, with yellow sun at right.

NIST Atomic Clock Comparison Confirms Key Assumptions of ‘Einstein’s Elevator’

June 4, 2018

By comparing different types of remote atomic clocks, physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have performed the most accurate

Four images composed of diffuse red, white and blue patterns.

JILA Team Invents New Way to ‘See’ the Quantum World

March 5, 2018

JILA scientists have invented a new imaging technique that produces rapid, precise measurements of quantum behavior in an atomic clock in the form of near

Man with gray hair standing beside computer with digital clock display

NIST’s Next-Generation Atomic Clocks May Support Official Timekeeping

November 16, 2017

For more than a decade, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has been unveiling experimental next-generation atomic clocks. These clocks

JILA’s 3-D Quantum Gas Atomic Clock Offers New Dimensions in Measurement

October 5, 2017

JILA physicists have created an entirely new design for an atomic clock, in which strontium atoms are packed into a tiny three-dimensional (3-D) cube at 1,000

Illustration of laser cooling motion of atomic ion

NIST Physicists Find a Way to Control Charged Molecules – with Quantum Logic

May 10, 2017

BOULDER, Colo.—National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) physicists have solved the seemingly intractable puzzle of how to control the quantum

Illustration of strontium lattice atomic clock

JILA Atomic Clock Mimics Long-sought Synthetic Magnetic State in Solids

December 21, 2016

Using their advanced atomic clock to mimic other desirable quantum systems, JILA physicists have caused atoms in a gas to behave as if they possess unusual

Screenshot of an animation of a superradiant laser

JILA’s Superradiant Laser May One Day Boost Atomic Clocks and ‘Rulers’ for Space

October 14, 2016

BOULDER, Colo. – JILA physicists have demonstrated a novel laser design based on synchronized emissions of light from the same type of atoms used in advanced

NIST's Super Quantum Simulator 'Entangles' Hundreds of Ions

June 9, 2016

Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have "entangled" or linked together the properties of up to 219 beryllium ions (charged

Created September 6, 2024, Updated October 10, 2024