What is a rubidium frequency standard?
A rubidium standard or rubidium atomic clock is a frequency standard in which a specified hyperfine transition of electrons in rubidium-87 atoms is used to control the output frequency.
How does a rubidium frequency standard work?
How does a rubidium oscillator work? In simple terms, the physics package contains a chamber of rubidium gas, a light is shone through the gas and the level of this light is detected. The rubidium gas is excited by microwave energy at the transition frequency of the gas.
How accurate is a rubidium clock?
A rubidium standard, or rubidium atomic clock, is a high accuracy frequency and time standard, usually accurate to within a few parts in 1011.
Are rubidium clocks radioactive?
It only has two naturally occurring isotopes, 85Rb and 87Rb, the latter is radioactive with a half-life of 48.8 billion years. It decays to stable 87Sr, which turns out to be a very useful process as it gives us another rubidium clock — a geological one, used in rubidium–strontium dating.
How long do rubidium oscillators last?
Rubidium offers superior short term stability to cesium for observation intervals less than about one day, which is why the GPS now uses rubidium standards in the satellites.
How much do atomic clocks cost?
Researchers in the US have developed the world’s smallest commercial atomic clock. Known as the SA. 45s Chip Size Atomic Clock (CSAC), it could be yours for just $1500. The clock, initially developed for military use, is about the size of a matchbox, weighs about 35 grams and has a power requirement of only 115 mW.
Where is the world’s most accurate clock?
What the world’s most accurate clock can tell us about Earth and the cosmos. This January 25, 2017, image courtesy of Dr. Ed Marti, shows a strontium optical lattice clock, stored at Jun Ye’s lab in the University of Colorado, Boulder.
What does Ocxo mean?
Oven Controlled Crystal
The term OCXO is an acronym for Oven Controlled Crystal (Xtal) Oscillator.
Can I own an atomic clock?
If you have a spare $1500 burning a hole in your pocket, perhaps you’d like to spend it on an ultra-precise, ultra-small atomic clock, now available for purchase from Symmetricom Inc. Draper Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories.
Is Big Ben the most accurate clock?
When completed in 1859, its clock was the largest and most accurate four-faced striking and chiming clock in the world. The tower stands 316 feet (96 m) tall, and the climb from ground level to the belfry is 334 steps. Its base is square, measuring 40 feet (12 m) on each side….Big Ben.
| Elizabeth Tower | |
|---|---|
| Architect | Augustus Pugin |
Is there a master clock?
Located in Washington D.C., the U.S. Naval Observatory master clock is designated as the “DOD Master Clock”. It is one of the two standard time and frequency references for the U.S. Government in accordance with Federal Standard 1002-A.