[time-nuts] What's the time Mr Wolf...

Lux, James P james.p.lux at jpl.nasa.gov
Thu Oct 30 23:51:53 UTC 2008


> -----Original Message-----
> From: time-nuts-bounces at febo.com
> [mailto:time-nuts-bounces at febo.com] On Behalf Of Hal Murray
> Sent: Thursday, October 30, 2008 4:35 PM
> To: Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement
> Subject: Re: [time-nuts] What's the time Mr Wolf...
>
>
> > Thanks for your understanding and useful pointers, this is exactly
> > what I was referring to. If you don't know where to start, it's not
> > always easy to get to the goal.
>
> This may not directly answer any of your questions, but it
> sure is a fun read.
>
>     * Time Too Good to Be True, Daniel Kleppner
>       Physics Today, March 2006, page 10
>

In the third column..

Not many years ago the possibility of merely detecting the minute effect of gravity on time was enough to inspire experimentalists. Over the years the accuracy of atomic clocks has become so high that the corrections for general relativity are not merely visible, they are so large that overlooking them in comparing the rates of atomic clocks in different laboratories2 or in the timing algorithms for the Global Positioning System3 (PHYSICS TODAY, May 2002, page 41) would cause catastrophes.

Hah... It's at the point where it's a viable science experiment for children in middle school (thank you Tom for doing this.. Now my daughters ask why we only have a GPSDO in the garage, and we don't have an atomic clock. )




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