It would take 15 billion years for the clock occupying Jun Ye’s basement lab at the University of Colorado to lose a second — how long the universe has existed.
For this invention, Chinese-American scientists will split $3 million, along with Japan’s Hidetoshi Katori, as co-winners of the 2022 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics.
Working independently, the two developed techniques use lasers to trap and cool atoms, then vibrate them in what are known as “optical lattice clocks,” the most precise timekeeping piece ever made.
By comparison, current atomic clocks lose a second once every 100 million years.
But what is achieved with greater accuracy?
“It’s really an instrument that allows you to probe the basic fabric of space-time in the universe,” Ye told AFP.
In Yeh’s lab, researchers have shown that time slows down when the clock is moved closer to the ground by a matter of centimeters, consistent with the predictions of Einstein’s relativity.
Applied to current technology, these clocks could improve GPS navigation accuracy by a factor of a thousand, or help an unmanned spacecraft land more smoothly on Mars.
a brief History of Time
Improving the accuracy and precision of timekeeping has been a goal since the ancient Egyptians and Chinese made sundials.
A significant breakthrough came in 1656 with the invention of the pendulum clock, which relied on a swinging weight to keep time, and a few decades later chronologies were accurate enough to determine a ship’s longitude at sea.
The early 20th century saw the advent of quartz clocks, which resonate at very specific, high frequencies, or the number of ticks in a second, when struck with electricity.
Quartz watches are ubiquitous in modern electronics, but are still somewhat susceptible to variations caused by the manufacturing process, or conditions such as temperature.
The next big leap in timekeeping came from using the movements of active atoms to develop atomic clocks, which are immune to the effects of such environmental changes.
Physicists know that a single, very high frequency will cause particles called electrons that orbit the nucleus of a specific type of atom to jump to a higher energy state, tracing an orbit further away from the nucleus.
Atomic clocks generate the approximate frequency by which the atoms of the element cesium jump to that higher energy state.
Then, a detector counts the number of those active atoms, adjusting the frequency if necessary to make the clock more accurate.
So precise that since 1967, a second has been defined as 9,192,631,770 oscillations of one cesium atom.
Exploration of the Universe, and the Earth
Katori and Ye’s labs have found ways to make atomic clocks even better by advancing oscillations to the visible end of the electromagnetic spectrum, whose frequencies are a million times higher than the frequencies used in current atomic clocks—them To make it even more precise.
He realized that he needed a way to trap the atoms—in this case, of the element strontium—and keep them stable with ultralow temperatures to help precisely measure time.
If the atoms are collapsing or otherwise moving due to gravity, there will be a loss of accuracy, and relativity will produce a distorting effect on timekeeping.
To trap the atoms, the inventors created an “optical lattice” created by laser waves moving in opposite directions to create a stable, egg carton-like shape.
You are excited about the potential use of your watch. For example, synchronizing the clocks of the world’s best observatories to the smallest fractions of a second would help astronomers better conceptualize black holes.
Improved clocks could also shed new light on Earth’s geologic processes.
Relativity tells us that time slows down as it approaches a massive body, so a sufficiently accurate clock can tell scientists the difference between solid rock and volcanic lava beneath the surface, helping to predict eruptions. Meets.
Or really, measure the level of the oceans, or how much water flows under the desert.
The next big challenge, he says, will be miniaturizing the technology so that it can be taken out of the lab.
Scientists recognize that it is sometimes difficult to explain basic physics concepts to people.
“But when they hear about watches, they can feel that it’s a solid thing, they can make a connection to that, and that’s very rewarding,” he said.
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