JILA physicists, jointly operated by NIST and the University of Colorado Boulder, have measured Einstein’s theory of general relativity at the smallest scale ever, showing that two tiny atomic clocks separated by just a millimeter tick at different rates. This breakthrough could lead to atomic clocks 50 times more precise than today’s best designs and potentially reveal how relativity and gravity interact with quantum mechanics.
The experiments, described in the Feb. 17 issue of Nature, suggest how to make atomic clocks 50 times more precise than today’s best designs and offer a route to perhaps revealing how relativity and gravity interact with quantum mechanics, a major quandary in physics. The research team resolved this difference quickly for this type of experiment, in about 30 minutes of averaging data. After 90 hours of data, their measurement precision was 50 times better than in any previous clock comparison.
The measured redshift across the atom cloud was tiny, in the realm of 0.0000000000000000001 (10^(-19) in scientific notation), consistent with predictions. The research team resolved this difference quickly for this type of experiment, in about 30 minutes of averaging data. After 90 hours of data, their measurement precision was 50 times better than in any previous clock comparison.
Keywords: Atomic Clocks, Quantum Coherence, Frequency Shift, Relativity, Time Dilation
