Scientist at National University of Singapore Created A new type of ultra-precise atomic clock ditches long-used substances like cesium and rubidium. For the first time, physicists have demonstrated the ability to use lutetium atoms, a true “heavyweight” element among other elements for atomic optical clocks. Due to its larger mass, lutetium introduces less error into measurements and makes them more accurate, achieving record levels of accuracy in determining time.
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The atomic mass of lutetium is 71. It is at the end of the lanthanide series, just after ytterbium. This is an extremely rare metal found in nature. But its properties are very valuable for making atomic optical clocks. Because the gravitational force of the atom is too large, its own vibration is much smaller than that of the same cesium. In addition, the frequency of optical transitions used in cesium clocks is about 354 THz, which is about 10,000 times higher than the frequency of microwave transitions used in cesium atomic clocks. This frequency, combined with reduced error rates, makes Lutetium watches the most accurate watches available today.
In addition, the “heavy” nature of lutetium atoms makes them less sensitive to magnetic fields and temperature changes. This means that atomic clocks based on them will be equally accurate in the Arctic and the Sahara Desert.
An ion of the lutetium-176 isotope was used in the experiment and kept in a special electromagnetic trap at room temperature. A laser with a wavelength of about 848 nm transfers ions between two energy states. It is the frequency of this transition that is used as an extremely stable time standard.
In the experiment, two independent devices were compared with each other for about 200 hours. Their frequencies are consistent and the relative difference is about 10-19the resulting system uncertainties (errors introduced by external factors) are 1.2 and 1.3×10 respectively.-19 for both installations. This is about four times higher than the previous record accuracy of an optical atomic clock using calcium ions set by Chinese scientists.
The precision achieved means that the watch is able to detect extremely small changes in frequency, even due to differences in gravitational potential. For example, such an optical clock would have the potential to measure millimeter-scale height changes. In the future, they could be used for ultra-precise geodetic measurements, testing the general theory of relativity and looking for very weak changes in fundamental physical constants. In particular, this could be important for creating a unified theory of gravity. In addition, the device operates at normal room temperature and does not require complex cryogenic systems, making the technology promising to create new time standards.
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