![]() A second reason is that it will open up new avenues of research scientists have only dreamed about, such as investigating dark matter by examining tiny shifts in gravitational waves. What’s the point of a timepiece with that kind of extreme accuracy? For one, it leads to jaw-dropping experiments that prove the principles of relativity ever more accurately, such as keeping two atomic clocks at different elevations and seeing that they “tick” at different rates because they experience different levels of gravity. In comparison, mechanical clocks can lose several seconds every month, scientists say. Today’s most accurate atomic clock would take around 30 billion years to lose even one second. The cesium atomic clock at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Gaithersburg, Maryland is so accurate that it would lose one second in 100 million years. ![]() (Fun fact: These energy shifts show up as electromagnetic radiation in the form of visible light, such as the orange glow from sodium vapor lamps used for street lighting. Because you can count how many times electrons jump between two energy levels in an atom of cesium in a given amount of time, this frequency has become the official measurement tool for the length of a second. Cesium’s outer shell has a single electron, making it chemically reactive to microwave radiation. A Subatomic Particle Can Turn Into Its Evil TwinĬesium was an early contender for creating a better timekeeper because atoms of this element have a much higher resonant frequency than the quartz used in wristwatches.Check Out This Picture of a Single Atom. ![]()
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