Advancements in Time Measurement: The Quest for Greater Accuracy

Scientists at the UK's National Physical Laboratory have developed a super accurate clock that measures time by monitoring the movement of a single ionized strontium atom. This clock is more accurate than the cesium based atomic clocks and has a precision of one second in 10 billion years. The potential applications of this technology include enabling autopilots to land planes without human intervention and improving the accuracy of global positioning systems used in navigation satellites.