We will first be deploying the portable clock for next-generation geodesy measurements, as well as optical clock comparisons towards re-defining the second. Our current efforts include implementing new technologies and quantum tools to advance technology readiness of the portable clock, making detailed characterizations of the cold-atom timekeeper both in and out of the lab, and making a novel, ultra-stable cavity-stabilized laser for the portable clock. Towards all of these goals, we have been developing a portable optical lattice clock to deliver state-of-the-art optical clock performance beyond the lab. Portable optical clocks can also advance the global effort towards re-defining and modernizing our base unit of time, the SI second. If these advanced laboratory clocks can be taken beyond the lab, their precision can be deployed for mapping earth’s gravity, studying geophysical processes, or testing general relativity. This extreme precision can be leveraged for tests of fundamental physics, like the search for time-varying fundamental constants or dark matter. For example, the NIST ytterbium optical lattice clock can make frequency or time measurements with a staggering 18 digits of precision. The very best atomic clocks today, optical clocks, are among the most precise measurement devices of any kind. These include a variety of navigation, communication, and remote sensing and imaging applications. Atom chamber for the NIST portable optical lattice clock.
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