Lasers are integral to the inner workings of an atomic clock. Atomic clocks track time by tracking the changes in energy levels of electrons, which emit or absorb a light frequency whenever they change energy levels. The laser used has the same frequency as the one emitted by the electron and they must be highly sophisticated to ensure accuracy. So, for a new type of atomic clock to be off by one second every 300 billion years despite its “lousy laser” means it’s our most accurate atomic clock by far. Read full article here
Science
‘Ghostly’ neutrinos provide new path to study protons
In groundbreaking research, an international collaboration of scientists from the University of Rochester have used a beam of neutrinos to measure the size and shape of the protons that make up the nuclei of atoms. This feat, once thought impossible, provides scientists with a new way of looking at the small components of an atom’s nucleus and opens up a wealth of new information about the structure of an atom’s nucleus and the dynamics of the forces that affect neutrino interactions. The researchers solved the challenge of harnessing neutrinos in large numbers by using a neutrino detector containing a target of both hydrogen and carbon atoms, and over nine years of data collection at Fermilab’s accelerator. Read full article here
Merv
March 25, 2023
