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Reasons To Buy An Atomic Clock
by Reg Atley
http://www.atomicclocku.com
Are you in need of an atomic clock? You may already have
heard about these miraculously accurate timekeepers. Atomic
clocks are the best keepers of time on today's market and
the name even sounds impressive. But, do you have any idea
how they operate or their selling price? Also, can you
really afford one?
Atomic clocks are not really so different from any other
kind of clock. At the heart of a clock there needs to be
something that taps out a really regular rhythm. Then this
beat is turned mechanically or digitally into a time we can
understand. It doesn't really matter how rapid the beat
is, as long as it is regular, but a pendulum clock is set
up to tick and tock every second. These old-fashioned
clocks are pretty accurate, as long as you remember to keep
them wound - a good grandfather clock can be accurate to
half a second a day.
The sources that can be used to maintain time have expanded
beyond the pendulum clock's source. Incidentally, Galileo
was the original planner of the pendulum clock even though
he never followed through and developed it. The quartz is
one example of a modern source used in today's clocks,
especially in digital watches. The quartz is so popular due
its ability to vibrate at a fairly reliable frequency when a
small electrical current is passed into the quartz. These
watches and clocks that utilize the quartz frequency can
remain accurate up to one-tenth of a second per day.
This level of accuracy is all most people really need in a
timepiece. After all, who really has to use an extra tenth
of a second when you have 86,400 other seconds to use each
day? Basically, the average person can get by with this
level of accuracy. Still, other people need a much more
accurate timepiece, especially those in the field of science
and navigation. These fields inspired the creation of the
atomic clock. This clock is immensely accurate.
The atomic clock is so accurate that the one in the National
Institute for Standard and Technology office is off only
30-billionth of a second every year! If you work for this
office, you have no excuse for being late. The atomic clock
operates through a rhythmic source called cesium that is
extremely predictable and precise. The element cesium has a
fast but always constant resonant frequency. For those who
are interested, the official definition of a second, as
established in 1967, is "9 billion, 192 million, 631
thousand 7 hundred and 70 cycles of a cesium atom..."
The NIST's clock is a high end model, and there are
different versions available. But you are unlikely to
ever want to buy one since even a hand held version will
probably set you back twenty thousand dollars. So what are
those things we've all seen advertised for twenty bucks?
The atomic alarm clocks and watches that are so easy to buy
are not themselves atomic clocks. Instead they contact an
atomic clock by radio and automatically update from that
source. This means that you are getting the benefit of
atomic clock accuracy for the price of a standard clock.
All this is academic to most of us, who do not need or want
such accuracy. But these clocks that update from the
atomic clock have one big advantage - you never need to
fiddle about setting them! For this reason alone, many
people find them worth the asking price.
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