5 ms·
My understanding is that precise measurement of time is the basis of all other measurements: space, mass, etc. They are all defined by some unit of time. So inc
by pyuser583 1y ago
My understanding is that precise measurement of time is the basis of all other measurements: space, mass, etc. They are all defined by some unit of time. So increasing time precision increases potential precision in other measurements.
Including of course information - often defined by the presence or absence of some alterable within a specific time.
We invent new uses for things once we have them.
A fun thought experiment would be what the world would look like if all clocks were perfectly in sync. I think I'll spend the rest of the day coming with imaginary applications.
- MengerSponge 1y ago> were perfectly in sync They couldn't stay synced. There's a measurable frequency shift from a few cm of height difference after all. Making a pair of clocks that are always perfectly in sync with each other is a major step towards Le Guin's ansible! For other readers' info, clock stability is crucial for long-term precision measurements, with a "goodness" measured by a system's Allan variance: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allan_variance https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allan_variance
- fsh 1y agoThis is true, but atomic clocks are about a million times more accurate than any other measurement device. For all pratical purposes, they are never the limiting factor.