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11 - Microwave Atomic Clocks

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 October 2018

Dennis D. McCarthy  and
P. Kenneth Seidelmann
Dennis D. McCarthy
Affiliation:
United States Naval Observatory
P. Kenneth Seidelmann
Affiliation:
University of Virginia
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Summary

Microwave atomic clocks introduced a new level of timekeeping accuracy. The Caesium atomic frequency standard became available in 1955, but it needed to be calibrated to provide a timescale matching Ephemeris Time. Commercial Caesium tubes made atomic clocks generally available. Caesium fountains have significantly improved the accuracy of atomic clocks. Hydrogen masers have been in use since the 1960s. Rubidium cell atomic clocks are readily available and Rubidium fountains promise to provide frequency standards with unprecedented stability. Stored ion and Mercury ion clocks are other sources of precise time and frequency. Laser-cooled microgravity atomic clocks are being developed for space missions.
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Time: From Earth Rotation to Atomic Physics , pp. 171 - 202
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2018

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