Scientists create world's most accurate clock
Boffins have created an atomic clock so accurate it will only lose one second every 300 million years.
They did it after being annoyed with the previous accuracy record holding clock ... which lost around TWO seconds every 30 million years.
Researchers at the University of Colorado started a 'traditional' atomic clock which consists of gas atoms captured in a magnetic field.
They then added a laser beam which freezes the atoms at -273 degrees Celsius (-459.4 Fahrenheit) - making an improved pendulum effect and better clock.
The scientists say they dream of producing a perfectly accurate clock ... and a world in which no-one is ever late for a meeting.
"An atom consists of a nucleus and some electrons that spin in clearly defined orbits around the nucleus," said nuclear physicist Jan Thomsen.
"By using the focused laser light one can make the electron swing back and forth in a clearly defined way between these orbits, and it is that which forms the pendulum in the atomic clock."
Boffins have created an atomic clock so accurate it will only lose one second every 300 million years.They did it after being annoyed with the previous accuracy record holding clock ... which lost around TWO seconds every 30 million years.
Researchers at the University of Colorado started a 'traditional' atomic clock which consists of gas atoms captured in a magnetic field.
They then added a laser beam which freezes the atoms at -273 degrees Celsius (-459.4 Fahrenheit) - making an improved pendulum effect and better clock.
The scientists say they dream of producing a perfectly accurate clock ... and a world in which no-one is ever late for a meeting.
"An atom consists of a nucleus and some electrons that spin in clearly defined orbits around the nucleus," said nuclear physicist Jan Thomsen.
"By using the focused laser light one can make the electron swing back and forth in a clearly defined way between these orbits, and it is that which forms the pendulum in the atomic clock."
