Title: NIST Develops New Quantum Time and Frequency Standards
1. International Atomic Time (TAI)
– TAI is a time scale maintained by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM)
– TAI is based on the SI second and runs at the same frequency as Coordinated Universal Time (UTC)
– TAI differs from UTC by an integral number of seconds, which increases with leap seconds
2. Intrinsic Standards
– Intrinsic standards are based on inherent physical constants or properties
– Cesium oscillators are the only practical intrinsic time and frequency standards currently
– Future standards may be based on other physical properties
3. Ion Traps
– Ion traps allow ions to be trapped and observed for long periods
– Ion traps can provide highly stable and accurate optical frequency standards
– Ion trap-based standards may eventually replace current frequency standards
The article discusses NIST’s development of new quantum time and frequency standards, including:
– International Atomic Time (TAI) maintained by the BIPM
– Intrinsic standards based on physical properties
– Ion trap-based optical frequency standards
These new standards could potentially replace current frequency standards and improve timekeeping accuracy.
Keywords: International Atomic Time, Intrinsic standard, Ion trap
