New atomic clock keeps accurate time for 200 million years

Until now, the most precise clock that existed is the official atomic clock of the National Institute of Standards and Technology that’s accurate down to the second for 80 million years. Now a new clock is vying for its position: a clock that actually traps atoms and monitors their “ticking” to measure time. The clock is also accurate to the second, and will be for 200 million years. Details in the full article.

Any watch owner – be it your typical wristwatch, or a mobile phone, or even your handheld platform – knows that it loses or gains time every once in a while.

Today, the official atomic clock of the National Institute of Standards and Technology is considered to be the world’s most prized timepiece due to its ability to tell accurate time down to the second for the next 80 million years. However, that distinction may not be valid for too long.

Another clock is vying for its position: A clock that will keep the time for 200 million years. The reason, however, why someone would want to replace a clock that would work for 80 million years when the first million isn’t even up yet may still have to be revealed.

The new clock was made by US physicists made at the Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics. The project is a collaboration between NIST and the University of Colorado in Boulder.

The clock actually traps atoms in grids of lasers, and then monitors the movement of the trapped atoms to measure time. The lab has experimented with various atoms to see which one is more precise. They settled on strontium particles.

We probably won’t see wristwatches trapping atoms to tell the time become available soon, but it’s still good to know someone out there knows what time it is.

Via NIST