The watch was so accurate that it did not deviate from time for 40 million years

Cryogenic Sapphire Oscillator (CSO) is one of the most accurate watches ever invented - and it not only keeps time, it is also helping Australia stay safe.

Researchers at the Advanced Institute of Photonics and Sensors (IPAS) in Adelaide, Australia, along with Cryoclock, have been developing CSO watches for more than 20 years, and they call this "Sapphire Watches".

This strange watch is 1,000 times more accurate than any other commercial watch system currently available in the world, and the watch is knocking 10 billion times per second. The word "Cryogenic" in its name comes from a 1,200-carat sapphire crystal that needs to be cooled to -267 degrees Celsius, which is only a few degrees above absolute zero.

The idea of ​​taking advantage of sapphire's great character came from Andre Luiten , Director of IPAS, in his PhD thesis before moving to Adelaide in 2013.

Accuracy in time measurement is an extremely important aspect for the electronic systems we use every day, such as GPS. However, the main application of this "Sapphire Watch" is to upgrade the sensitivity of the radar signal in the JORN , an advanced radar network that acts as an early warning system in Australia's strategic defensive wall. .

You can see the video about this watch below:

Sapphire watch.

The JORN radar network plays a crucial role in Australia's ability to detect air and sea threats from abroad by broadcasting a reflection of a foreign object and is then detected by a receiver on mainland Australia. The more "clear" the signal, the more likely it is that this radar network will detect the smaller objects, the slower the distance will be higher.

"The sensitivity of detecting objects at long distances depends on the clarity of the reference clock frequencies. Our Sapphire watch will allow the JORN to generate signals in 1,000 times the current technology. it is in use " - Luiten said.

In addition to improving JORN's capabilities, Luiten also recognizes other applications of Sapphire Watches in the future.

"In the long term, we see many other applications - for example in civil radar systems at airports, or providing master clocks for quantum computers, or providing timers for 5G telecom station " - Luiten continued.

This is an impressive scientific achievement, and it helped the team to receive the 2018 Defense Science and Technology Award, the Outstanding Science Project to Protect Australia from taking place at the Australian Museum Eureka. Prizes on August 29 last. This annual awards event honors scientific achievements in the areas of research and innovation, as well as scientific and educational applications.

This strange watch is 1,000 times more accurate than any other commercial watch system.

The most impressive thing about CSO? It is one of a total of 8 watches currently under construction and operation. Two CSOs will be delivered to the JORN, the other two will be placed at the University where it was created. A new "next generation" device , about the size of half of the original device, is currently being tested.

This is not the first time people have developed a watch with such incredible accuracy. Watch manufacturers have been finding ways to create more accurate watches for decades. In 2014, a Strontium watch was created, capable of operating without deviation of time for 5 billion years. Newer generations of Strontium watches can maintain an accuracy of up to 90 billion years.