Clock Porn

December 12th, 2007

A amazing article in Wired about the NIST in the USA and their atomic clocks. These are so accurate that they have to take the relativistic effects of moving from the 3rd to the 2nd floor of the building into account – and in the best computer science traditions, the clocks get more accurate continuously. The next generation being tested is effected by the height changes from the building expanding on warm days!
I read this stuff with the awe of a child – it’s gleeful amazement that people are able to build things this perfect and then make them better. It’s amazing to be alive in the 21st century.

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