The Atomichron was the world's first commercial
atomic clock
An atomic clock is a clock that measures time by monitoring the resonant frequency of atoms. It is based on atoms having different energy levels. Electron states in an atom are associated with different energy levels, and in transitions betwee ...
, built by the
National Company, Inc. of Malden, Massachusetts. It was also the first self-contained portable atomic clock and was a
caesium standard
The caesium standard is a primary frequency standard in which the Absorption (electromagnetic radiation), photon absorption by transitions between the two hyperfine level, hyperfine ground states of caesium-133 atoms is used to control the output ...
clock. More than 50 clocks with the trademarked Atomichron name were produced.
See also
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Chip-scale atomic clock
A chip scale atomic clock (CSAC) is a compact, low-power atomic clock fabricated using techniques of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and incorporating a low-power semiconductor laser as the light source. The first CSAC physics package was d ...
*
Hoptroff London
References
External links
A Brief History of the National Company, IncAtomichron: The Atomic Clock from Concept to Commercial Product
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Atomic clocks