Fact of the Day: measured time Since 1967, the second has been - TopicsExpress



          

Fact of the Day: measured time Since 1967, the second has been based on the absolutely predictable behavior of the cesium atom. The outer electron in the cesium atom flips when exposed to a radio signal of exactly 9192631770 Hz. The quartz oscillator producing this signal is automatically adjusted to keep those electrons jumping and its frequency, divided by 9192631770, is defined as one second. The second, controlled by the U.S. Bureau of Standards, is multiplied to define our days and years. We live on atomic time, kept by atomic cesium clocks that measure time in nanoseconds.
Posted on: Mon, 28 Oct 2013 04:46:34 +0000

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