Redefining the second: Optical atomic clock achieves record accuracy in comparison measurement

Redefining the second: Optical atomic clock achieves record accuracy in comparison measurement



The next generation of atomic clocks “ticks” with the frequency of the laser. This is approximately 100,000 times faster than the microwave frequencies of cesium clocks that are currently generating. These optical clocks are still being evaluated, but already, some are up to 100 times more accurate than cesium clocks. They will therefore become the future basis for the worldwide definition of the second in the International System of Units (SI).