World’s First Commercially Available Optical Lattice Clock Unveiled, Priced at $3.3 Million
In the age where nanoseconds translate to millions of dollars, precision equipment maker Shimadzu Corp. has launched a revolutionary product: a strontium optical lattice clock boasting unparalleled accuracy, Bloomberg reports.
The Kyoto-based company announced today that it is offering the world’s first commercially available clock accurate to a deviation of just one second over ten billion years.
Priced at approximately 500 million yen ($3.3 million), the clock represents a significant leap forward in timekeeping technology. It utilizes the optical transition of atoms confined in standing waves of light to measure time with extraordinary precision. The development of this groundbreaking technology was a collaborative effort with The University of Tokyo and the research institute Riken.
The strontium optical lattice clock achieves an accuracy level about one hundred times greater than traditional cesium atomic clocks, which currently define the standard for the second. This heightened precision opens up a realm of possibilities for advanced scientific research.
Shimadzu plans to begin selling the clock immediately and aims to sell 10 units over the next three years, targeting both domestic and international markets.
