Essay On Atomic Clock

INTRODUCTION

For thousands of years, devices have been used to measure and keep track of time. The device which tracks and indicates the passage of time using a time keeping element is known as a clock. The demand for increasing accuracy in the measurement of time and frequency in the fields such as navigation and information technology has required clocks with ever greater precision for their greater performances.

Every atom is composed of a nucleus, which contains the atom’s protons and neutrons. Orbiting that nucleus are the atom’s electrons, which occupy different orbits or energy levels. By absorbing or releasing a certain amount of energy, the electrons can ‘jump’ from one energy level to another. This is called a transition. The

This is known as the Cesium standard and has also been defined as the international primary standard for time and frequency.

Unlike quartz crystal oscillators in quartz clocks which have a manufacturer frequency tolerance, an atom always resonates at the same known frequency and that is what makes atomic clocks so precise and accurate.

EVOLUTION OF ATOMIC CLOCKS

The first atomic clock was built in 1949 by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and utilized ammonia as the source of the clock setting vibrations. Early atomic clocks were based on masers at zero temperature.

One of the most recent advancements in todays’ atomic clocks is the addition of a laser cooling system. This system improves the signal-to-noise ratio and also decreases the uncertainty in the clock signal improving the precision of time measurement.

Cesium fountain clock, Rubidium atomic clock, Strontium atomic clock and Mercury ion clock are some of the atomic clocks that have been developed up to now. The difference between these clocks is the element used and also the means of detecting the energy level