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Playing With Atomic Clocks At Home

Posted by kdawson on from the as-i-was-walking-down-the-street-one-day dept.

Wired is running a profile of the Time Nuts, a small group of people who buy surplus precision time equipment — cesium clocks for example — on eBay and keep really accurate time, because they can. The article quotes Tom Van Baak, who has outfitted a time lab superior to those of many small countries: "If you have one clock... you are peaceful and have no worries. If you have two clocks... you start asking, 'What time is it, really?'"

8 of 167 comments (clear)

  1. Clearly.... by Smidge204 · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...Some people have too much time on their hands.

    =Smidge=

    1. Re:Clearly.... by Kranfer · · Score: 4, Funny

      This is no time to argue about time, we don't have the time!

      --
      -- Josh
      "Whoopie! Man, that may have been a small one for Neil, but that's a long one for me!" - Pete Conrad
  2. As Linus might say by CRCulver · · Score: 4, Funny

    Real men just run ntpd and let the whole world keep time for them.

  3. Stop. by RandoX · · Score: 5, Funny

    Hammer time.

  4. Q-physics by mach1980 · · Score: 4, Funny

    If you really, really know what time it is. You will find yourself quite lost. Darn that Heisenberg!

    --
    Break the sound barrier - bring the noise.
  5. First post by carpe_noctem · · Score: 5, Funny

    This is really the first post; your clocks just don't agree with mine.

    --
    "Quoting famous computer scientists out of context is the root of all evil (or at least most of it) in programming." - K
  6. Please read the article by fishdan · · Score: 5, Funny

    Your missing out if you only skimmed the article. Make sure you find this gem:

    When the family returned to the suburbs two days later, the cesium clocks were off by the precise amount relativity predicted. He and his family had lived just a little more life than the neighbors.

    An amazing PROOF that time is actually affected by gravity. We still know so little (ahem) relatively about time in physics, that seeing evidence of it being manipulated in this manner is awesome. will there be giant contained gravity wells in ambulances to slow time while patients are rushed to the hospital? Will I be slowing down time so I can get First Post AND spell check? The possibilities are endless!

    --
    Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm
  7. The real reason by jgoemat · · Score: 4, Funny

    Isn't it obvious? It wasn't relativity, the family lived an extra 22 milliseconds because they drove up a mountain and were closer to God. That's the only logical solution, I can't see this "gravity" you speak of. Every time someone has a problem with time physicists think they can solve it just by throwing a few nanoseconds at it. Ridiculous...