Tech Shimadzu develops first commercial optical lattice clock

The company started taking orders for the high-precision clock in November 2024 after developing a transportable model in collaboration with researchers from institutions including the University of Tokyo. Its miniaturisation allows the product to be used outdoors, and it could find practical applications in areas such as monitoring movements of the Earth's crust related to plate tectonics, volcanic activity and other phenomena, Shimadzu said. Invented in 2001 by Hidetoshi Katori, a professor at the University of Tokyo's Graduate School of Engineering, an optical lattice clock has a timekeeping uncertainty hundreds of times smaller than caesium atomic clocks that currently define the second. The firm said that an optical lattice clock is a candidate for redefining the second, a process scheduled for 2030 by an international organisation.

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The technology relies on a standing wave of laser light to create an optical lattice, where atoms such as strontium or ytterbium are confined. A separate laser then measures the oscillations of these atoms, which serve as the clock's timekeeping mechanism. Unlike traditional atomic clocks that use microwave frequencies, optical lattice clocks operate at optical frequencies, allowing for far greater precision.

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mdchachi said:

If the power goes out it will lose the time and be less precise than a wind-up Rolex.

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Mikawa Ossan said:

That what UPS are for. (Uninterruptible Power Supply--basically a battery backup). There are also backup generators that can be employed. Nothing is fool-proof, but people are well aware of the concern of power interruptions and have come up with several solutions.

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