NIST boffins shrink atomic beam clock to the size of a postage stamp

There's a new atomic clock on the block over at the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and while it's not as accurate as its predecessors it does have one big advantage: it's small enough to stick in your pocket. The chip-scale beam clock (CSBC) is tiny – just around the size of a postage stamp – and it …

[Richard Boyce]

In a hundred years...

.... this may be a treasured item in a museum, viewed by people who routinely carry a low-cost device that measures their personal speed through time with far more accuracy.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: In a hundred years...

"carry a low-cost device that measures their personal speed through time with far more accuracy."

Won't happen. 2 reasons: Price and physics.

Unless someone invents new physics related to measuring time and it doesn't cost anything. That doesn't happen very often.

[Yet Another Anonymous coward]

Re: In a hundred years...

And yet will still be late for any appointment

[zuckzuckgo]

> "Recent fountain clock designs have achieved a one second drift over 100 million years. "

I assume that experiment was original set up by Slartybartfast if the one second drift has already been achieved.

[Hurn]

Zeema shift?

Clear, carbonated, citrus flavored, malt liquor based beverage?

Zeeman shift?

Spectral lines shifted (e.g. widened) when light source is in a strong magnetic field?

[Grey_Kiwi]

"the size of a postage stamp"

You need a new comparator, dear Vultures.

Your under-35 readership will be wondering "What is this 'postage stamp' thing to which they refer? How big might they be?" because they have never posted or received a letter in their young lives.

Mostly, they conduct all their business transactions by phone, SMS, online messenger app, email or web-form.

On the rare occasion they need to send a physical item, they use a package/courier service.

Sorry, the "postage stamp" days are nearly gone

[fxkeh]

non-standards compliant measurement

I'm disappointed the article is continuing to use "postage stamp" as a measurement of size, rather than using the correct standard, which as any fule kno, is the nanoWales for area - https://www.theregister.com/Design/page/reg-standards-converter.html - or grapefruit for volume.

[Anonymous Coward]

Is that a pre or post QR code stamp? Perhaps it's a commemorative special edition? Or maybe it's an A5 label you paid for and printed yourself from the Royal Mail website...

[Elongated Muskrat]

Probably because, at the current rate of postage stamp price inflation, a basic phone which can send SMS and which has an online messenger app on it will soon cost less than a postage stamp.

In unrelated news, I found out, after a conversation with my postie, that my local Royal Mail delivery office is both short-staffed and has a hiring freeze on, which explains why ten days worth of post arrived in one bundle at once. All that money is going somewhere, could it possibly be that privatisation was only a good idea for those who got a slice of the pie?

[Peter Prof Fox]

Silicone?

Any clock would go tits-up to seconds in a decade if made with silicone(Per original article.). Or is that what the resonant cavity consists of?

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Silicone?

That silly cone is a dunce hat.... :-)

[42656e4d203239]

Re: Silicone?

>>That silly cone is a dunce hat.... :-)

you are a dad and I claim my £5....

[frabbledeklatter]

... Separated by a Common Language

The Reg unit "Scaramucci" is known in the US as the "mooch".

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: ... Separated by a Common Language

> known in the US as the "mooch".

Maybe in SI units but in the US the "the" is required so it is technically "the Mooch". There is no point in standards if we are not going to use them correctly.