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Which is the most accurate atomic clock?

seo-qna
Last updated date: 06th Sep 2024
Total views: 354.9k
Views today: 7.54k
Answer
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Hint: Atomic clocks preserve time with exceptional precision by using the resonance frequencies of atoms (typically cesium or rubidium). The frequency of microwave electromagnetic radiation controls the electronic components of atomic clocks.

Complete step-by-step solution:
A caesium atomic clock is a primary frequency standard in which the output frequency is controlled by electronic transactions between the two hyperfine ground states of caesium -133 atoms. Caesium clocks are the most precise commercially available time and frequency standards, and they are used to define the second in the SI system.
The Atomic Clock is the current technology in use. It is a time-keeping device that employs the energy released by a sample of atoms as a frequency standard. When electrons gain energy, they hop from a lower-energy orbital to a higher-energy orbital. After emitting some radiation, this electron can either stay in this new orbit or return to its former form. Because the energy available is frequently restricted, the electron quickly emits microwave radiation and returns to its original orbit. This is a cycle involving two different energy levels. The current definition of a second, as defined by the International System of Units (SI), is "a second is the duration of 9,192,631,770 cycles of radiation due to the transition between energy levels of Caesium-133 atoms held at 0 K." The most precise time and frequency standards are atomic clocks.

Note:Measurement of Timekeeping has several applications in broadcasting satellites and global navigation systems like GPS. The Internet, like the news stations from which most of us set our watches, is strongly reliant on the time and frequency standards maintained by atomic clocks.