![]() ![]() The Birmingham team, based within the UK Quantum Technology Hub Sensors and Timing, have come up with a solution that addresses both of these challenges in a package that is a 'box' of about 120 litres that weighs less than 75 kg. "These transportable optical clocks not only will help to improve geodetic measurements - the fundamental properties of the Earth's shape and gravity variations - but will also serve as precursors to monitor and identify geodynamic signals like earthquakes and volcanoes at early stages."Īlthough such quantum clocks are advancing rapidly, key barriers to deploying them are their size - current models come in a van or in a car trailer and are about 1500 litres - and their sensitivity to environmental conditions limiting their transport between different places. Such networks will reduce our dependence on GPS systems, which can sometimes fail. Once we have a system that is ready for use outside the laboratory, we can use them, for example, on -ground navigation networks where all such clocks are connected via optical fibre and started talking with each other. ![]() Lead researcher, Dr Yogeshwar Kale, said: "The stability and precision of optical clocks make them crucial to many future information networks and communications. Such clocks will also help to address fundamental physics questions such as whether the fundamental constants are really 'constants' or they are varying with time The unparalleled accuracy of these clocks can also help us see beyond standard models of physics and understand some of the most mysterious aspects of the universe, including dark matter and dark energy. By allowing longer periods between needing to resynchronise than other kinds of clock, they offer increased resilience for national timing infrastructure and unlock future positioning and navigation applications for autonomous vehicles. Atomic clocks with optical clock frequencies can be 10,000 times more accurate than their microwave counterparts, opening up the possibility of redefining the standard (SI) unit of measurement.Įven more advanced optical clocks could one day make a significant difference both in everyday life and in fundamental science. Quantum - or atomic - clocks are widely seen as essential for increasingly precise approaches to areas such as online communications across the world, navigation systems, or global trading in stocks, where fractions of seconds could make a huge economic difference. Working in collaboration with and partly funded by the UK's Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), a team of quantum physicists have devised new approaches that not only reduce the size of their clock, but also make it robust enough to be transported out of the laboratory and employed in the 'real world'. ![]()
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