How does an atomic clock work?
It’s one of the questions I use to regularly ask when I was looking at watches online before I worked for First Class Watches. An interesting fact for all you readers out there, the UK has its own Atomic Clock and it makes me a proud Brit to be able to announce that it is the most precise timekeeping device in the known universe (at this current time, 16th January 2017). Atomic clocks actually keep such accurate time that they’re only expected to lose one second over the next million years or more, now that’s impressive. The UK’s atomic clock is currently located at the UK’s National Physical Laboratory (NPL), it is a caesium fountain clock and astonishingly they have managed to work out when the clock will lose its first second. I know you’re dying to know… it’s in roughly 138 million years! Guess I’ll never see that then, ah well.
The National Physical Laboratory caesium fountain atomic clock takes something as simple as a tick and works out an incredible way of measuring something so small. It measures the energy required to change a property of caesium atoms and this is called a “spin” or a tick. For those of you who would like some more detail, a tick has a scientific definition which states that electromagnetic waves are required to accomplish a “spin flip”. You are then able to measure one Universal standard second as this is when 9,192,631,770 fluctuations in these electromagnetic waves have been recorded.
Scientists are then able to work out the definition of a universal second by gathering around 100 million caesium atoms and exposing them to electromagnetic waves, they then simply adjust the frequency and observe them until they see the spin flip happen. It’s at this point that the scientists can define it. The NPL-CsF2 atomic clock provides an international standard which the world’s clocks are compared to. An area of scientific research where the UK leads the pack.
What is atomic radio control?
So by now you should have a basic understanding of the UK’s Caesium atomic clock and how it works and we understand that it’s the most accurate clock ever observed. The atomic clock is a huge piece of technology and its very expensive to build one so instead of having everyone who wants a radio controlled watch all living close to a tower they have embraced radio broadcast technology this makes the atomic clock and all over its accuracy available to everybody that owns an Acctim radio controlled timepiece at least. As other brands don’t tend to use this they use a signal tower in Germany to send out a signal which is considered less accurate. Acctim watches call this technology their Atomatiq® and its even a trademark for the brand.
Even European customers or frequent travellers can still own an Acctim watch as their dual band radio controlled watches still work and receive accurate signals from an atomic clock thanks to the European DCF signal which is broadcast from Germany. I can hear those of you out there wandering if it will still be as accurate, don’t panic I will reassure you. It is an incredibly accurate atomic clock also and to put it in to perspective regarding its accuracy. Deutsche Bahn Railway Company use this signal tower to synchronise every single railway station across Germany to exact accurate time every single day. It’s signal can be reliably be received as far as 2000km from Mainflingen which covers large parts of Europe as well as parts of Russia, Turkey, Portugal and even North Africa!
