PTB measures the influence of the ambient temperature on
strontium atoms for the first time - measurement uncertainty reduced by one order
of magnitude
An optical clock with neutral strontium atoms is considered
one of the top candidates for the definition of a "new" second. The
probabilities have increased considerably, since its frequency will now be
determined more accurately (probably by an order of magnitude). Scientists of
the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) have laid the foundation for
this by measuring, for the first time, the influence of the most important uncertainty
factor, namely the ambient temperature. To date, its influence could only be
derived theoretically. Their results, which have been published in the latest
issue of the scientific journal Physical Review Letters, might well spark
interest also in geodesy and in fundamental physical research - more
specifically: in the question as to whether fundamental constants are really
constant.