China brought the first cold atomic clock to space

According to calculations, China's latest cold atomic clock is just a second later . 1 billion years.

The American Institute of Standards and Technology is operating the NIST-F2 atomic clock that is currently the most accurate. However, China is challenging this watch when it claims to launch the world's most accurate "chronometer" into orbit on September 15.

Thien Cung-2 was launched into orbit.

The American watch is about 2.5m tall and contained in a large room. NIST-F2 deviates about 1 second after 300 million years.

The cold atomic clock (CACS) developed by Shanghai and Chinese researchers can be easily lifted by two people. It is worth noting that it is three times more accurate than the US clock and only one second after 1 billion years. This watch is expected to be launched into space tonight.

"This is the first cold atomic clock to operate in outer space for civilian and defense purposes," said Professor Xu Zhen, a scientist involved in the CACS project.

China's North Satellite system is currently inaccurate with the US GPS system, but Xu said that when using the CACS super-accurate clock, the accuracy of the Chinese navigation system will increase significantly. tell.

CACS watches are several thousand times more accurate than the clocks used on GPS satellites that begin their journey on the Tian Cung-2 space lab launched in Inner Mongolia on the evening of September 15.

The equipment comes with Thien Cung 2 laboratory.

Another device is a gamma-ray polarizer that will be mounted on the Thien Cung-2 lab to measure and study explosions in the universe. In addition, scientists add a quantum communication device and a furnace to simulate the extremely high temperatures created when a new material is born. Another surveillance satellite also flew around Thien Cung-2 to avoid colliding with cosmic debris.

Chinese scientists are confident to say that the Heavenly Palace-2 marks the turning point of the country from "following the heels" of the major industrial countries into a pioneer.

Xu, a researcher at the Shanghai Institute of Precision and Optical Mechanics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, says cold atomic clocks are a good example of this shift.

The idea of ​​sending a super accurate clock into the universe was proposed by European scientists 20 years ago. However, the European Space Agency at that time had many difficulties and delayed when launching super-accurate watches on orbit. It is expected that next year this type of watch will be mounted on the ISS station.

The US also developed its own cold atomic clock, however, it must be canceled due to budget cuts.

Atomic clocks work on the principle that electron electrons orbiting a nucleus of a molecule will jump from one state to another by short-wave stimulation. Therefore, atoms can act as "accurate clocks" when producing and maintaining microwaves at a fixed frequency.

China is gradually gaining the status of a cosmic power.

Cold atomic clocks are much more accurate than traditional clocks. Hot atomic clocks use laser waves to limit atomic speeds from several hundred meters per second to one centimeter per second. Because the nucleus is considered to be a reference object, only a slight delay in the accuracy of the entire atomic clock will be changed.

In addition, atoms are affected by gravity. The universe has a weak attraction to the earth, thus increasing the accuracy of cold atomic clocks.

China is expected to launch a full-size space station by 2020 with experience from the Thien Cung lab launching into space five years ago . "We are still turtles in the race with rabbits," a Chinese aerospace expert said.