Physics Department Colloquia |
Events During the Week of April 24th through May 1st, 2011
Monday, April 25th, 2011
- No events scheduled
Tuesday, April 26th, 2011
- No events scheduled
Wednesday, April 27th, 2011
- No events scheduled
Thursday, April 28th, 2011
- No events scheduled
Friday, April 29th, 2011
- Distinguished Award Winner
- Atomic Clocks: Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?
- Time: 4:00 pm
- Place: 2241 Chamberlin Hall (coffee at 3:30 pm)
- Speaker: Thomas R. O'Brian, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and JILA
- Abstract: Time is the most accurately measured absolute quantity. The world's best atomic clocks at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) measure time with absolute uncertainties about 8 x 10-18, the equivalent of one second in 4 billion years. At this precision, relativistic time dilation is evident at jogging speeds or 10 cm changes in altitude. We will discuss how atomic timekeeping underpins a broad range of our technology infrastructure, enables innovative measurements for everything from brain activity to mineral exploration - and how related to atomic timekeeping has stimulated some of the most important advances in atomic and optical physics.
- Host: Department of Physics