 Proposed space-based atomic clock.
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As communications and navigation experts know, having one of the world's most accurate atomic clocks is worth much more than bragging rights. NIST-F1, the current time standard for the United States, neither gains nor loses a second in more than 20 million years. And NIST physicists are working on a next-generation clock that will be even more accurate. Additionally, NIST is building an atomic clock for the International Space Station. NASA has awarded NIST a grant to develop a space-based clock that could be 10 times more accurate than atomic clocks on Earth because of the microgravity environment. |
| Why do we pursue such accuracy in timekeeping?
Improvements in
atomic clocks have led to improvements in, for example, the performance of
the Global Positioning System (GPS) and the efficiency of telecommunications
systems. GPS-based systems have become critical to navigation and are rapidly
gaining favor in many consumer applications. Future improvements in atomic
clocks will continue to contribute to improvements in such systems as well as
to open up whole new areas of development.
Visit the NIST web site (www.boulder.nist.gov/timefreq/service/its.htm) to download software that will synchronize your computer's clock with the NIST atomic clock. Computer users worldwide use this service more than 300 million times per day. |
 NIST Network Time Service.
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Online: June 1999 - Last update: November 2001