Short Wave The Great Space Race ... With Clocks
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May 26, 2025 Delve into the fascinating world of timekeeping, where atomic clocks play a pivotal role in GPS, stock trading, and space navigation. Discover the historical challenges of maritime navigation tied to unreliable timekeeping, and how innovations in atomic clocks are set to revolutionize exploration. Learn about NASA's cutting-edge atomic physics experiments aimed at creating even more precise clocks. Exciting advancements like the Optical Atomic Strontium Ion Clock promise to deepen our understanding of gravity and quantum mechanics, paving the way for a new era in space navigation.
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Longitude Problem and Chronometer Anecdote
- Calculating longitude was extremely difficult on ships in the 1600s, leading to many shipwrecks due to inaccurate clocks.
- The marine chronometer solved this with a near frictionless pendulum, enabling precise navigation and fewer shipwrecks.
GPS Relies on Satellite Clocks
- GPS navigation depends entirely on satellites emitting precise timing signals for location triangulation.
- Better clocks in space lead to significantly higher location accuracy on Earth.
Atoms as Clock References
- Atomic clocks use atoms as references to keep time extremely precisely by tracking energy transitions.
- The atom's electron absorbs energy to go to an excited state, then releases energy back, providing a frequency standard.
