The most accurate watches in the world

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has created the most accurate watches in the world: they are based on the innovative quantum spectroscopy method for the aluminum-27 atom. The technology allows you to catch transitions between the levels of the quantum state of an atom with a frequency of 8.6e – 18, that is, such hours will not exceed the second error for at least 3.7 billion years.

They are more than twice as accurate as the previous version of the most accurate watches designed by the same group of scientists a year and a half ago (the differences between them are shown in the diagram under the screen).

The new record holder has an error less than the standard of the second itself, that is, in a sense, this watch is more accurate than time itself. One second, according to the SI standard, is equal to the 9.192.631.770 period of emission of the cesium-137 atom. With the advent of new watches, this and other fundamental constants can be adjusted.
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PS As correctly noted in the comments , the more accurate the clock on the GPS satellite, the more accurately the navigation works. In a press release from NIST , it is reported that such accuracy will even allow aircraft to be planted using GPS.



Here is another scheme that presents the evolution of time measurement technology in the entire history of mankind

via New Scientist