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cover of episode The Great Space Race ... With Clocks

The Great Space Race ... With Clocks

2025/5/26
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Short Wave

AI Deep Dive AI Chapters Transcript
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H
Holly Leopardi
P
Peter Brereton
R
Regina Barber
R
Renee Reynolds
Topics
Regina Barber: 我和Emily Kwong讲述了一个关于时间的故事,探讨了时间如何定位我们在世界中的位置。回顾历史,早期的航海面临经度计算的难题,依赖于船上的时钟来确定位置。然而,这些时钟极易受到环境影响而产生漂移,导致航行误差和危险。英国政府设立经度委员会,旨在寻找更精确的计时方案。最终,航海天文钟的出现解决了这一问题,使得远洋航行成为可能。如今,随着太空探索的兴起,我们再次面临类似的挑战,需要在太空中实现精准导航,因此,开发更先进的原子钟至关重要。 Holly Leopardi: 我在NASA的Quest实验室工作,致力于开发用于太空环境的光学原子锶离子钟(OASIC)。传统的原子钟使用微波,精度有限。而OASIC采用光学激光和锶原子,能实现更高的精度,减少对地球校准的依赖。OASIC的核心在于利用锶原子对特定频率激光的敏感性,实现极高的计时精度。我的目标是在太空中建立一个光学时钟网络,利用这些高精度时钟进行基础物理研究,例如探测地球引力场的变化、研究引力与量子力学的相互作用,甚至探索暗物质的奥秘。我相信,这项技术不仅能提升太空导航的精度,还能为我们揭示宇宙的深层秘密。 Renee Reynolds: 量子技术是超越传统技术的关键途径,NASA希望通过改进原子钟来突破现有技术的限制。 Peter Brereton: 量子技术的威力在于它利用了原子物理学的原理,使得系统比使用经典物理学的系统更加精确。原子钟以原子作为参考,而原子在任何地方都是一样的,这保证了原子钟的长期稳定性。

Deep Dive

Chapters
This chapter explores the historical context of the Longitude Problem, highlighting its impact on seafaring and the development of precise timekeeping. The British government's involvement and the creation of the Marine Chronometer are key aspects discussed.
  • Difficulty in calculating longitude in the 1600s
  • The role of clocks in determining longitude
  • The Longitude Problem's impact on shipwrecks and lost lives
  • The British government's creation of the Board of Longitude
  • The invention of the Marine Chronometer and its impact on seafaring

Shownotes Transcript

It's Memorial Day, Short Wavers. This holiday, we bring you a meditation on time ... and clocks. There are hundreds of atomic clocks in orbit right now, perched on satellites all over Earth. We depend on them for GPS location, Internet timing, stock trading and even space navigation. In today's encore episode, hosts Emily Kwong) and Regina G. Barber) learn how to build a better clock. In order to do that, they ask: How do atomic clocks really work, anyway? What makes a clock precise? And how could that process be improved for even greater accuracy?**- For more about Holly's Optical Atomic Strontium Ion Clock, check out the OASIC project on NASA's website).- For more about the Longitude Problem, check out Dava Sobel's book, Longitude). ***Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave).Have questions or story ideas? Let us know by emailing [email protected])!*Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices)NPR Privacy Policy)