Atomic Standards of Frequency and Time

Details Atomic Standards of Frequency and Time Atomic Standards of Frequency and Time

Sep 1966

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1966phtea...4..247r&link_type=abstract

The Physics Teacher, Volume 4, Issue 6, pp. 247-256 (1966).

Physics

Scientific paper

The National Bureau of Standards scale of time is provided by an atomic frequency standard. Thus, for the first time in our civilization, the basis of our measurement of time is atomic instead of astronomical. The major reasons for this change are that modern science can measure the resonance of an atom more accurately than it can measure the motions of stars and planets, all of the factors affecting atoms are better understood, and the atomic resonance appears to be more stable than planetary motions. This change has improved our accuracy of measurement by three orders of magnitude.
Presently, the best atomic clocks are based on atomic cesium beams such as the three at NBS. Further research, however, may reveal a better choice of atom or method. NBS is using four radio stations to distribute time (and its reciprocal, frequency) to the nation and over much of the globe, but again, research is being conducted on newer techniques that offer higher accuracies.
The change from astronomical to atomic time will have little effect on our daily living habits, but it will permit our technology to accomplish things we couldn't do before and to do the same things more economically.

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