![]() ![]() Regardless of technology, they all use oscillation as a way to track time, and so too does an atomic clock.Īn atomic clock employs an electric oscillator regulated by an atom’s natural oscillation movement between the positive charge on the nucleus and the surrounding electron cloud. A digital clock uses the oscillations of a quartz crystal or the oscillations from the power line. A mechanical wristwatch uses the energy from a wound mainspring passed through a series of gears to a balance wheel, which oscillates back and forth. A traditional clock counts the ticks created by the oscillations of a pendulum. Like a traditional clock, atomic clocks track time using oscillation. (And, no, despite the name, atomic clocks are not radioactive.
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