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| Title: |
Time & Frequency; Atomic Clocks; Mercury Ion; Bergquist |
| Description: |
NIST physicist Jim Bergquist holds a portable keyboard used to set up the world's most accurate clock. The silver cylinder in the foreground is a magnetic shield that surrounds a cryogenic vacuum system, which in turn holds the heart of the clock, a single mercury ion (electrically charged atom). The ion is brought to rest by laser-cooling it to near absolute zero. The optical oscillations of the essentially motionless ion are used to produce the "ticks" or "heartbeat" of the world's most stable and accurate clock.
*PHY, atomic clock, optical clock, ion clock, single ion, mercury, navigation, telecommunications, determination of the second, timekeeping, time standard, Boulder
See also http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/releases/mercury_atomic_clock.htm.
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| Subjects (names): |
Bergquist, Jim
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| Topics/Categories: |
Metrology, Basic Units--Time
Optics
Physics--Optics
Time & Frequency--Atomic Clocks
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| Type: |
Photo/Color |
| Source: |
National Institute of Standards and Technology |
Credit Line as it should
appear in print: |
Copyright Geoffrey Wheeler |
| AV Number: |
06PHY013 |
| Date Created: |
July 14, 2006 |
| Date Entered: |
7/17/2006 |
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