To explore deep space, we’ll need better clocks. Here’s why

Enlarge this image Peter Dazeley/Getty Images

Every single day, humans rely on hundreds of hidden clocks.

GPS location, Internet stability, stock trading, power grid management … all rely on atomic clocks in order to work. Many of those clocks are in orbit, perched on satellites orbiting Earth.

Over time, temperatures swings, power supply and the speed at which the clock is moving can set these clocks very slightly out of sync. This phenomenon is called “clock drift.” To control for it, GPS clocks are set to check the time and correct themselves regularly.

But in outer

→ Continue reading at NPR - Technology

More from author

Related posts

Advertisment

Latest posts

Trump’s housing market conundrum | CNN Business

CNN  —  As President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office this month, he faces a very different housing...

Biden permanently bans offshore drilling in 625 million acres of ocean, making a Trump reversal difficult | CNN Business

CNN  —  President Joe Biden on Monday announced an executive action that will permanently ban future offshore oil...

Nippon Steel may sue US government over Biden’s decision to block US Steel acquisition | CNN Business

Tokyo/Hong Kong CNN  —  Nippon Steel, whose multibillion-dollar proposal to buy struggling US Steel was blocked by President Joe...