atomic clock
noun
: a precision clock that depends for its operation on an electrical oscillator regulated by the natural vibration frequencies of an atomic system (such as a beam of cesium atoms)
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web More accurate systems can be deployed locally but, speaking generally, GNSS is able to deliver atomic clock accuracy on a global scale without the need for actual local atomic clocks. 
WIRED, 27 Aug. 2022 Researchers have recorded the shortest day on Earth since the invention of the atomic clock. Ashley Strickland, CNN, 13 Aug. 2022 While the Earth on June 29 did indeed record its shortest day since the adoption of the atomic clock standard in 1970 — at 1.59 milliseconds less than 24 hours — scientists say this is a normal fluctuation. CBS News, 13 Aug. 2022 After all, how much does an atomic clock really affect an everyday person? Joshua Hawkins, BGR, 18 July 2022 Upgrades to atomic clock lasers may give us a more precise measurement of the second. Tim Newcomb, Popular Mechanics, 26 Apr. 2022 And this is where the optical atomic clock’s secret weapon kicks in. New York Times, 25 Apr. 2022 White’s comedic timing was as precise as an atomic clock. Washington Post, 26 Nov. 2021 In a media statement, the company stated that their rubidium atomic clock would deliver a frequency stability of about 2x10-14 over averaging intervals of 10,000 seconds. Jennifer Kite-powell, Forbes, 18 Sep. 2021 See More
WIRED, 27 Aug. 2022 Researchers have recorded the shortest day on Earth since the invention of the atomic clock. Ashley Strickland, CNN, 13 Aug. 2022 While the Earth on June 29 did indeed record its shortest day since the adoption of the atomic clock standard in 1970 — at 1.59 milliseconds less than 24 hours — scientists say this is a normal fluctuation. CBS News, 13 Aug. 2022 After all, how much does an atomic clock really affect an everyday person? Joshua Hawkins, BGR, 18 July 2022 Upgrades to atomic clock lasers may give us a more precise measurement of the second. Tim Newcomb, Popular Mechanics, 26 Apr. 2022 And this is where the optical atomic clock’s secret weapon kicks in. New York Times, 25 Apr. 2022 White’s comedic timing was as precise as an atomic clock. Washington Post, 26 Nov. 2021 In a media statement, the company stated that their rubidium atomic clock would deliver a frequency stability of about 2x10-14 over averaging intervals of 10,000 seconds. Jennifer Kite-powell, Forbes, 18 Sep. 2021 See More Word History
First Known Use
1924, in the meaning defined above
atomic clocks
noun
as in alarm clocks
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- alarm clocks
- time clocks
- grandfather clocks
- cuckoo clocks
- water clocks
- clocks
- sandglasses
- timers
- timepieces
- clepsydrae
- chronometers
- clepsydras
- timekeepers
- hourglasses
- sundials
- chronographs
- stopwatches
- watches