Maritime navigation for centuries has been intrinsically linked with the accuracy of clocks. The 18th century saw many design competitions for seaworthy clocks that retained their accuracy enough to determine a ship’s longitude. Nowadays, an accurate clock is important for participating in the Global Navigation Satellite System. Scientific and military vessels alike are equipped with microwave-based atomic clocks to achieve the precision necessary for safe sea travel. Such clocks, however, require a lot of external equipment to maintain their precision.
Optical atomic clocks, which provide higher performance than their microwave counterparts, have been primarily used in laboratory settings because they are bulky and sensitive to their surroundings. Researchers at Vector Atomic have now made a smaller optical clock that retains its precision outside the lab. The team, led by Martin Boyd, selected molecular iodine for the clock because its transitions are accessible with robust, industrial lasers. Several of its transition...
