Nist: New Optical Clock More Accurate Than Cesium

LordPhatal writes "NIST researchers have demonstrated a new kind of atomic clock that has the potential to be up to 1,000 times more accurate than today's best clock. The new clock is based on an energy transition in a single trapped mercury ion.

Comments

And in a year, they'll be using alcohol instead.

[tunah]

Duh! When this clock breaks the mercury will go everywhere! They already went through this phase with thermometers.

Now we need a whole new...

[itwerx]

...nursery rhyme to replace Hickory Dickory Dock:

Flappity floppity flip,
A mouse on a moebius strip,
The strip revolved,
The mouse dissolved,
In a chronodimensional skip!

:)

Re:And in a year, they'll be using alcohol instead

[Anonymous Coward]

well, ONE single ion can only go SOMEwhere, not EVERYwhere, unless they know its momentum very precisely.