The NIST-F2 Atomic Clock: How does it work?

NIST’s new atomic time interval standard, the NIST-F2, combines laser cooling with a liquid nitrogen-cooled chamber to achieve unprecedented accuracy in a cesium fountain clock. The improved clock will not gain or lose 1 second in 300 million years. This animation illustrates how cesium atomic fountain clocks work in general and features the improvements made to the NIST-F2. Animation credit: Trent Schindler More Info: