| If time is crucial to you or your office,
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| | actually receiving the time from a shared
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| consider investing in atomic clocks so
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| | location where one of the world's few of
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| that everyone knows exactly what time it
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| | the world's atomic clocks operates. A low
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| is and everyone has the same time. These
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| | -frequency radio signal broadcasts the
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| are the most accurate time keeping pieces
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| | time from that location to all atomic
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| you can get, and more and more businesses
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| | clocks within its range. There are
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| are using atomic wall clocks to make sure
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| | currently approximately 200 atomic clocks
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| that accurate time sheets and
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| | world-wide in sixty countries.
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| appointments are kept.
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| | In the United States, most atomic clocks
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| But what are atomic clocks and why are
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| | used for home and offices are
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| they so much more accurate than regular
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| | synchronized to the National Institutes
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| clocks? A standard clock, whether
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| | of Standards and Technology atomic clock
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| wind-up, electric or battery operated,
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| | in Boulder, Colorado. The other official
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| counts time by the number of "ticks" that
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| | atomic clock is at the U.S. Naval
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| a resonator makes. The resonator is the
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| | Observatory in Washington, D.C. and is
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| device that actually keeps track of time.
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| | the official time clock of the Department
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| In most clocks the resonator is either a
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| | of Defense. Since both of these atomic
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| swinging pendulum or (in digital clocks)
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| | clocks are within one second of each
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| oscillations in the power line (which is
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| | other over a million years of time, it is
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| a bit different in the U.S. and in
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| | unlikely that time displayed on atomic
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| Europe).
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| | wall clocks at the Pentagon will differ
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| Atomic clocks also use a resonator, but
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| | from the time displayed on an atomic
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| the resonator counts based on the
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| | clock in your home office!
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| resonance frequency of atoms. Resonance
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| | How Do At-Home Clocks Get the Information
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| is the emission or absorption of
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| | from Master Atomic Clocks?
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| microwave electromagnetic radiation by an
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| | Global positioning satellites (GPS) in
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| atom. It is very regular, and no matter
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| | the skies above us transmit the signals
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| which atom of cesium used, the frequency
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| | from the official atomic clocks to
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| of resonance is always exactly the same.
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| | individual receivers in atomic wall
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| This is why atomic clocks are so much
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| | clocks and desk clocks all over the
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| more accurate than other clocks - the
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| | world. In other countries, the signal
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| resonators in other clocks can be
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| | would come from whichever clock is the
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| affected by lots of variables like
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| | official atomic clock for that region,
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| temperature, moisture and atmospheric
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| | just as the one in Boulder, Colorado is
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| conditions. None of these affect the
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| | the one for the United States.
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| atoms, so the atomic clocks never lose or
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| | These amazingly accurate atomic clocks
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| gain time.
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| | are also responsible for the fact that
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| Synchronization of Atomic Clocks
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| | all computers with built-in clocks are
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| The reason all atomic clocks show the
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| | synchronized and accurate and keep time
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| same time anywhere you go is because they
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| | whether on or off. With such accurate
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| don't each have their own cesium atom -
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| | time keeping and the use of GPS, you can
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| this would be impossible because it's
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| | be sure that your atomic clocks will let
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| incredibly expensive and requires very
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| | you know exactly what time it is, down to
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| precise conditions. Atomic clocks are
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| | the nano-second!
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