How Atomic Clocks Work
When the power goes out and is later restored, how do you know what time to set
your clocks to? Have you ever wondered how time is regulated?
In the United States, the standard of time is regulated by the US Naval
Observatory's Master Clock(USNO), the official source of time for the Department of
Defense. The effects of these mechanisms are felt by all of us in the form of alarm
clocks, computers, answering machines and meeting schedules. In this edition
of HowStuffWorks, we will learn all about atomic clocks and how they keep the
world ticking!
Are Atomic Clocks Radioactive?
Atomic clocks keep time better than any other clock. They even keep time better
than the rotation of the Earth and the movement of the stars. Without atomic
clocks, GPS navigation would be impossible, theInternet would not synchronize, and
the position of the planets would not be known with enough accuracy for space
probes and landers to be launched and monitored.
Atomic clocks are not radioactive. They do not rely on atomic decay. Rather,
they have an oscillating mass and a spring, just like ordinary clocks.
The big difference between a standard clock in your home and an atomic clock is
that the oscillation in an atomic clock is between the nucleus of an atom and the
surrounding electrons. This oscillation is not exactly a parallel to the balance wheel
and hairspring of a clockwork watch, but the fact is that both use oscillations to
keep track of passing time. The oscillation frequencies within the atom are
determined by the mass of the nucleus and the gravity and electrostatic "spring"
between the positive charge on the nucleus and the electron cloud surrounding it.
What Are The Types of Atomic Clocks?
Today, though there are different types of atomic clocks, the principle behind all of
them remains the same. The major difference is associated with the element used
and the means of detecting when the energy level changes. The various types of
atomic clocks include:
Cesium atomic clocks employ a beam of cesium atoms. The clock
separates cesium atoms of different energy levels by magnetic field.
Hydrogen atomic clocks maintain hydrogen atoms at the required energy
level in a container with walls of a special material so that the atoms don't
lose their higher energy state too quickly.
Rubidium atomic clocks, the simplest and most compact of all, use a glass
cell of rubidium gas that changes its absorption of light at the optical
rubidium frequency when the surrounding microwave frequency is just right.
The most accurate atomic clocks available today use the cesium atom and the
normal magnetic fields and detectors. In addition, the cesium atoms are stopped
from zipping back and forth by laser beams, reducing small changes in frequency
due to the Doppler effect.
How Does a Practical Cesium Atomic Clock Work?
Atoms have characteristic oscillation frequencies. Perhaps the most familiar
frequency is the orange glow from the sodium in table salt if it is sprinkled on a
flame. An atom will have many frequencies, some at radio wavelength, some in
the visible spectrum, and some in between the two. Cesium 133 is the element
most commonly chosen for atomic clocks.
To turn the cesium atomic resonance into an atomic clock, it is necessary to
measure one of its transition or resonant frequencies accurately. This is normally
done by locking a crystal oscillator to theprincipal microwave resonance of the
cesium atom. This signal is in the microwave range of the radio spectrum, and just
happens to be at the same sort of frequency as direct broadcast satellite signals.
Engineers understand how to build equipment in this area of the spectrum in great
detail.
To create a clock, cesium is first heated so that atoms boil off and pass down a tube
maintained at a high vacuum. First they pass through a magnetic field that selects
atoms of the right energy state; then they pass through an intense microwave
field. The frequency of the microwave energy sweeps backward and forward within
a narrow range of frequencies, so that at some point in each cycle it crosses the
frequency of exactly 9,192,631,770 Hertz (Hz, or cycles per second). The range of
the microwave generator is already close to this exact frequency, as it comes from
an accurate crystal oscillator. When a cesium atom receives microwave energy at
exactly the right frequency, it changes its energy state.
At the far end of the tube, another magnetic field separates out the atoms that
have changed their energy state if the microwave field was at exactly the correct
frequency. A detector at the end of the tube gives an output proportional to the
number of cesium atoms striking it, and therefore peaks in output when the
microwave frequency is exactly correct. This peak is then used to make the slight
correction necessary to bring the crystal oscillator and hence the microwave field
exactly on frequency. This locked frequency is then divided by 9,192,631,770 to
give the familiar one pulse per second required by the real world.
When Was The Atomic Clock Invented?
In 1945, Columbia University physics professor Isidor Rabi suggested that a clock
could be made from a technique he developed in the 1930s called atomic beam
magnetic resonance. By 1949, the National Bureau of Standards (NBS, now
the National Institute of Standards and Technology, NIST) announced the worlds
first atomic clock using the ammonia molecule as the source of vibrations, and by
1952 it announced the first atomic clock using cesium atoms as the vibration
source, NBS-1.
In 1955, the National Physical Laboratory in England built the first cesium-beam
clock used as a calibration source. Over the next decade, more advanced forms of
the clocks were created. In 1967, the 13th General Conference on Weights and
Measures defined the SI second on the basis of vibrations of the cesium atom; the
worlds time keeping system no longer had an astronomical basis at that
point! NBS-4, the worlds most stable cesium clock, was completed in 1968, and
was used into the 1990s as part of the NIST time system.
In 1999, NIST-F1 began operation with an uncertainty of 1.7 parts in 10 to the 15th
power, or accuracy to about one second in 20 million years, making it the most
accurate clock ever made (a distinction shared with a similar standard in Paris).
How Is Atomic Time Measured?
The correct frequency for the particular cesium resonance is now defined by
international agreement as9,192,631,770 Hz so that when divided by this number
the output is exactly 1 Hz, or 1 cycle per second.
The long-term accuracy achievable by modern cesium atomic clocks (the most
common type) is better than one second per one million years. Hydrogen atomic
clocks show a better short-term (one week) accuracy, approximately 10 times the
accuracy of cesium atomic clocks. Therefore, the atomic clocks have increased the
accuracy of time measurement about one million times in comparison with the
measurements carried out by means of astronomical techniques.
The National Company in Massachusetts produced the first commercial atomic
clocks using cesium. Today, they are produced by various manufacturers, including
Hewlett Packard, Frequency Electronics, and FTS. New technology continues to
improve performance. The most accurate laboratory cesium atomic clocks are
thousands of times better than commercially produced units.
