News Report: MIT Study Opens New Horizons in Time Measurement
A new era occurs in the field of time measurement, thanks to the study of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), which opens new horizons exactly, which can help in the study of quantum phenomena, including the detection of dark matter.
The key to the new technology is the stability of oscillations. Traditional watches, whether pendulum or with a quartz crystal, use physical vibrations to measure time. However, atomic hours, the most modern in the world, use fluctuations in the laser beam that excite atoms to a frequency of 9.2 billion times a second, providing the extreme accuracy necessary for satellite communication, GPS systems, and financial markets.
The main problem of watch stability is in external interference. For example, a light wind can bring down the pendulum watches, and warmth can violate the fluctuations of atoms in atomic watches. However, researchers from MIT found that even with the complete exclusion of external interference, the stability of the watch will still be limited by quantum effects. It is the quantum noise that becomes the limit of the accuracy of oscillatory devices, such as lasers and watches.
However, scientists have proposed a way to overcome this quantum limit. Their study showed that manipulation, or “compression”, states that cause quantum noise, can improve the stability of the oscillator, even exceeding its quantum limit. Vivishki Sudhir, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at MIT, explains: “We have shown that there is the limit of the stability of the oscillators, which is determined not only by the environment, but also by quantum mechanics that makes them hesitate a little.”
In the experimental part of the study, the team is working on demonstrating the theory in practice. If it is possible to manipulate quantum states in the oscillating system, this will allow the configuration of watches, lasers, and other oscillators for superxuvant accuracy. Such systems will be able to track extremely small differences in time, for example, fluctuations in one cubit in a quantum computer or the presence of a particle of dark matter.
Hudson Laflin, a graduate student at the Faculty of MIT, shares