The advantage of a radio-controlled clock that receives the time signal from WWVB is that you never have to set it again. Whether it’s a little digital job on your desk, or some big analog wall clock ...

Atomic clocks are the most accurate timekeepers we have, losing only seconds across billions of years. But apparently that’s not accurate enough – nuclear clocks could steal their thunder, speeding up ...

The way time is measured is on the edge of a historic upgrade. At the heart of this change is a new kind of atomic clock that uses light instead of microwaves. This shift means timekeeping could ...

Scientists are exploring a new type of optical atomic clock based on ytterbium-173 ions that could help define the future ...

For decades, atomic clocks have provided the most stable means of timekeeping. They measure time by oscillating in step with the resonant frequency of atoms, a method so accurate that it serves as the ...

A new atomic clock is one of the world’s best timekeepers, researchers say — and after years of development, the “fountain”-style clock is now in use helping keep official U.S. time. Known as NIST-F4, ...

Clocks on Earth are ticking a bit more regularly thanks to NIST-F4, a new atomic clock at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) campus in Boulder, Colorado. NIST-F4 measures an ...

Poland has just started up one of the few optical atomic clocks in the world that puts old cesium fountain atomic clocks to shame. Share on Facebook (opens in a new window) Share on X (opens in a new ...

Smaller version Illustration of a conventional atomic fountain clock (left) next to NPL’s miniature atomic fountain clock. (Courtesy: NPL) A miniature version of an atomic fountain clock has been ...

They say, 'Necessity is the mother of invention,' and in many ways, that's true. There are many motivations to invent, some ...