1. Money

Discuss in my forum

NIST-F1 Cesium Fountain Atomic Clock

By , About.com Guide

2 of 5

How Accurate is an Atomic Clock?
How Accurate is an Atomic Clock?

How Accurate is an Atomic Clock?

NIST
The uncertainty of NIST-F1 is less than 2 x 10-15, which means it would neither gain nor lose a second in 20 million years! The graph above shows how NIST-F1 compares to previous atomic clocks built by NIST. It is approximately three times more accurate than NIST-7, a cesium beam atomic clock that served as the United State's primary time and frequency standard from 1993-1999.

©2013 About.com. All rights reserved.