6 ms·
Wouldn't it be simpler to just build everything so that a missing second even every hour or two isn't an issue? No? Why not?
by wly_cdgr 5y ago
Wouldn't it be simpler to just build everything so that a missing second even every hour or two isn't an issue? No? Why not?
- bagels 5y agoIt's a scientific instrument. Some things need the precision.
- alar44 5y agomicroscope invented Wly_cdgr: Why don't we just make things bigger?
- hobs 5y agoEvery additional unit of precision gives you an entire world of stuff you can do. To a computer a second is forever.
- magicalhippo 5y agoThese "clocks" are used more like stopwatches. They're useful for doing incredibly precise science experiments. The added timing precision translates into better precision of other measurements like distance if you're doing time-of-flight experiments like OPERA did[1]. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OPERA_experiment https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OPERA_experiment
- NovemberWhiskey 5y agoWell, we wouldn't be able to have any useful kind of radio communications, for example.
- analog31 5y agoFor the most part we do. For instance, communications protocols -- both wired and wireless -- allow for a certain amount of error, typically defined in the specs for the protocol. If there's a small amount of frequency drift in the sending device, the receiver can detect the actual timing of bit transitions and adjust. Prior to the computer age, radios and TV's had oscillators that locked themselves to the timings of the transmitting signal. That way, the receiver didn't need to have a precise timer at all. Timing requirements tend to get more precise when you're trying to cram more data into a particular channel. On a more gross scale, bus and train systems can afford timing errors of seconds or even minutes. But precision science needs precision instruments, when the interesting effects are very small.