![]() ![]() The accuracy of NIST-F1 is continuously improving, and as of 2010, scientists calculated that its uncertainty had been reduced to the point that it will neither gain or lose a second over the course of 100 million years. The sophisticated apparatus-known as NIST-F1-is the latest in a line of high-tech atomic clocks and was officially adopted as the U.S.’s time standard in 1999. Housed at the NIST’s Physical Measurement Laboratory, this is the official atomic clock, and it keeps time for the entire country. This clock’s low-tech appearance conceals an elaborate system for keeping it precisely in tune with what the National Institute of Standards and Technology deems official time: a clock calibrated by the movement of a clump of cesium atoms in Boulder, Colorado. Available widely for as little as $10 or $15, these radio-controlled clocks are increasingly popular, as they adjust automatically to time shifts and will work virtually anywhere in the continental United States. This got us thinking about the clocks that set themselves. As Daylight Saving s Time approaches, you’ll be seeing many reminders to shift your clocks an hour forward just before going to sleep on Saturday night. ![]()
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