Le site de vulgarisation scientifique de l’Université de Liège. ULg, Université de Liège

The time according to atoms
4/26/12

One second in 30 million years!

The accuracy and stability of atomic clocks exceed all other oscillation systems. The typical stability of an atomic clock is 10-15 sec per sec. Hence, in the space of a second, we expect a maximum time fluctuation of a millionth of a billionth of a second. In the space of one day, this means that there will be a maximum fluctuation of 10-10 sec, i.e. a tenth of a billionth of a second (a tenth of a nanosecond). In other words, you would have to wait 30 million years to observe two clocks drifting by one second...  “which would equal less than 3 minutes since the beginning of the earth more than 4 billion years ago”, Thierry Bastin tells us enthusiastically. And these limits are continuously getting shorter: we’re now at 10-18 sec per sec!

Atomic-clock

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Written by :
Henri Dupuis

Translated by:
ISLV

Based on the work of:
 
 

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