Atomic clocks on the Moon. It might sound like a futuristic concept, but atomic clocks already abound in space. They can be found on Earth-orbiting satellites that provide precision timing for many modern technologies.
The clocks’ primary function is to generate the time signals that are broadcast by satellite navigation systems such as GPS. These signals are also used to time-stamp financial transactions, enable mobile-phone communications and coordinate electricity grids.
But why stop at orbits a mere 20,000 km from Earth’s surface? Should we establish a network of atomic clocks on the Moon? This is the subject of a new paper by two physicists at NIST in Boulder, Colorado – Neil Ashby and Bijunath Patla.
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