Cesium, "Heart" of the Atomic Clock
Cesium (caesium), the "heart" of the National Bureau of Standards' atomic clock, is contained in a capsule before being put in the "oven" that will vaporize it into a beam of atoms. The atomic clock counts the vibrations of these cesium atoms, an incredible 9,192,631,770 per second. An atomic clock is a clock device that uses an electronic transition frequency in the microwave, optical, or ultraviolet region of the electromagnetic spectrum of atoms as a frequency standard for its timekeeping element. Atomic clocks are the most accurate time and frequency standards known, and are used as primary standards for international time distribution services, to control the wave frequency of television broadcasts, and in global navigation satellite systems such as GPS.
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