NIST researchers have developed ytterbium atomic clocks that set a new record for stability, with ticks matching to within less than two parts in 1 quintillion. This represents a 10x improvement over previous atomic clock stability. The clocks could have significant impacts on timekeeping, sensors measuring tiny effects, and next-generation atomic clocks.
Each ytterbium clock contains about 10,000 rare-earth atoms cooled to 10 microkelvin and trapped in an optical lattice. A laser ticks 518 trillion times per second, causing energy transitions in the atoms. The high stability allows precise results to be achieved in just one second of averaging time, compared to the current U.S. civilian time standard’s five days.
The ytterbium clocks’ stability record is separate from their accuracy, which will be measured in the near future. The research is funded in part by DARPA and NASA.
Source: https://www.nist.gov/news-events/news/2013/08/nist-ytterbium-atomic-clocks-set-record-stability
Keywords: atomic clocks, stability, ytterbium, quantum
