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Written on Wednesday, February 20, 2008 by Jessica

Who knew cesium clocks had such a terrible flaw?

The problem with the cesium clock is that after 30 million years or so, the clock will be off by about one second.
Oh, the humanity!

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2 Comments

  1. Danielle/Brooke |

    Ok I will be the one to ask, What is a cesium clock?

     
  2. Jessica |

    "Current clocks are based on the oscillation of the metal cesium, a technology which is more than 50 years old, notes Andrei Derevianko, a professor of physics at the University of Reno and one of the new study's authors. The problem with the cesium clock is that after 30 million years or so, the clock will be off by about one second."

    I think this probably refers to superaccurate scientific clocks, not your average wristwatch, but what do I know. I just don't think that a radioactive material such as cesium would be used in standard clocks.

     

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