The article used simplified explanations and analogies, such as > Tick, tick, tick. The rhythm of clocks is universal. But how exactly alike are those ticks?

The article used simplified explanations and analogies, such as > Tick, tick, tick. The rhythm of clocks is universal. But how exactly alike are those ticks? > [...] Precision has to do not with delineating the perfect second but rather with creating extremely regular ticks, or oscillations. Imagine a game of darts. Atomic clocks are able to land all their darts, or oscillations, broadly around the bull's-eye so that the average position is right on target, even though any given dart might be a centimeter or two away from dead center. Luiten's device doesn't aim for the bull's-eye: instead, it is able to land all its darts at exactly the same point on the dartboard. In other words, each tick is really, really, really just like another. But didn't even once mention the technical term for that in the entire article, making it more difficult to see what the author is talking about for people with an engineering background. This is simply known as jitter, or phase noise. It's especially funny given that the IEEE Spectrum's audience is engineering-minded readers.