Month: April 2021

Today, an atomic clock is the most accurate time-measuring device, and to manipulate our hectic schedules, we need constant reminders about every second wasted or gained. Having an atomic wall clock in our homes, offices, or public places affects our transportation, manufacturing, communication, and other technical functions.

We have swaggered hours away from sundials, the sand hourglass, and cuckoo clocks (with a cuckoo bird popping out every hour), or the carved wooden grandfather clock ticking in the hallway. The later pendulum and crystal quartz clocks were accurate but needed constant servicing. Atomic wall clocks have changed time viewing and are available in different designs and features, depending on the manufacturer. A radio-controlled atomic wall clock is reset to the US WWVB atomic clock in Boulder, Colorado, and can adapt automatically for daylight savings time. Some wall clocks have added features to monitor indoor temperatures for extra climate comfort or jumbo letters for checking time from distance.

Design and color are secondary, as the hallmark of a reliable atomic wall clock is that it should not require frequent setting and should automatically adjust to time changes. Most atomic wall clocks have their time corrected on regular basis through signals from regional stations. A clock purchased in the U.S. will not work in Europe or the Far East, as clocks contain chips specific to a region. Another important checking point is battery operation. Preference should be given for electric wall clocks, as battery back up is not a long-term proposition.

Technology has advantages and makes our lives comfortable. But there is nothing to beat the traditional wall clocks, with their tick-tocks reverberating throughout the entire house. A grandfather clock has a pendulum that oscillates back and forth to produce time-sound, while an atomic clock has preset alarm sounds. We do have crossovers, old models with the latest technology, but ask any wall clock collector and the answer would be that there is nothing to beat the romance of wooden wall clocks with Roman letters.

Time waits for no man. Keeping this mind, we set about inventing clocks to synchronize ourselves with lunar cycles. It was an impressive leap, beginning some 10,000 years ago when the Egyptians came up with sundials in 2100 BC. Sundials, or shadow clocks, first used by Sumerians, worked on the premise of measuring the length of shadows to deduce time of day. Weather played spoilsport as on cloudy days, and when the months changed, shadows would not correspond with the markings. The Romans tried to do better by pilfering Cleopatra’s Needles, the tools used by Egyptians, but had to be content with town criers announcing the changing time. Around 325 BC, the water clock followed sundials; a water clock was basically a bucket of water with a hole in bottom to record slipping time but not hours. Various contraptions and models followed, ultimately resulting in clocks.

The word clock has its genesis in French word “cloche,” meaning bell. The first clock used weights to move gears, which in turn moved the hands. The one problem was that someone had to reset the weights until weight was propped by an oscillating horizontal bar attached to vertical spindle with protrusions to act as diversions. Soon, springs replaced weights, reducing the size of the clocks that could be carried, kept on a mantelpiece, or hung as wall clocks. Mechanical clocks and watches gave way to electronic timepieces with quartz crystal, later to be surpassed by atomic clocks.

Accuracy is the hallmark of atomic clocks, which are turning out to be more reliable and uniform when compared with time deduced by the rotation of earth. Atomic clocks operate by measuring the resonant frequency of a given atom i.e., Cesium, Hydrogen, or Mercury, increasing exactness more than a billionth of a second per day. It is this accurateness that has made atomic clocks more dependable as alarm clocks for domestic, scientific, or public functions.

Time measured by rotation of Earth is not uniform when compared with time kept by atomic clocks. It was not always so, and atomic clocks underwent changes before giving us accurate time. The first atomic clock, built at the U.S. National Bureau of Standards in 1949, was a maser with attached equipment. It was followed by advanced atomic clocks that provide high accuracy by allowing for microwave interrogation of atoms isolated from each other and from any exterior disturbance.

Atomic clocks are used as time standards for counting the passing seconds. In 1884, the Greenwich Mean Time or GMT was established as first global time scale and UTC, its atomic equivalent, was established as the official time for the world in January, 1972. The International Bureau of Weights and Measures, or BIPM, is the official keeper of atomic time for the world. In the U.S., the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s NIST-F1 is an example of accuracy with neither gaining nor loosing a second. Atomic clock time is important for global positioning of satellites, various missiles, rocket programs, aviation programs, navy, power distribution, mobile and landline telephone systems, the Internet, GPS, and digital television. The movement of the earth causes random fluctuations in length of days and years, and the atomic clock has been able to manage the anomalies of time differences. A recent example is the leap second added due to slowing of the earth’s rotation on December 31, 2005.

The unique measurement capability and success of atomic clocks is such that time and frequency have far higher accuracy than any other physical quantity. NASA uses atomic clocks to provide reliable and consistent navigation for interplanetary space travel, where fractional disparities in clock tick rates can dramatically affect the navigation of spacecraft. Similarly, computers are coordinated with atomic clock time and sitting anywhere in the U.S., we can have access to precise minutes and seconds.

Imagine setting clock alarm for waking up early the next morning only to be awakened minutes or hours late and then missing out on appointments or meetings. It was can be a frequent occurrence without an atomic alarm clock. With an atomic alarm clock, however, there would be no excuses for late risers, as the alarm goes of on time and can help do away with television or cell phone alarms.

The alarm clock is replete with gizmos, such as audio announcement, automatic summer and winter daylight-savings adjustments, and display time in seconds/minutes of day, date, and alarm time. There is volume selection, which is a bonus as the alarm clock has an extra long beep. Since it is a radio alarm clock, it works on receiving the radio time signal generated by the U.S. Atomic Clock located in Colorado, saving users precious minutes in the bargain.

Another product that can prove useful is the travel atomic alarm clock. For frequent travelers, these clocks work well as their amazingly perfect antennae pick up radio signals from atomic time transmitters. Another plus is that users can do away with the services of a hotel or host for wake up calls when vacationing, on business trips, or traveling for whatever reason.

Atomic alarm clocks come in various designs and sizes, are portable, and are easy to read and set with familiar and positive sounds or songs. Instead of being roused with raucous or shrilly notes, one can hear a soothing favorite song or tone so as not to wake up in a crabby mood. Whether it is a pocket watch or cell phone look-alike, an atomic alarm clock is a must with other traveling accessories, especially if one is on a tight schedule.