How did high winds affect the National Institute of Standards and Technology clocks?

High winds caused a generator failure, leading to a power outage that briefly delayed NIST's atomic clocks by microseconds.

What applications rely on the precision of U.S. atomic clocks?

Applications include GPS devices, telecommunications, financial transactions, and scientific research requiring synchronized time.

Was the U.S. timekeeping system significantly disrupted by the outage?

No, the impact was minimal due to a dispersed network of redundant clocks and servers ensuring continuous service.

Home / Technology / Seconds Skip as Wind Affects Atomic Clocks

Seconds Skip as Wind Affects Atomic Clocks

23 Dec

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Summary

High winds caused a power outage, delaying atomic clocks by microseconds.
Redundant systems ensured minimal impact on U.S. timekeeping.
Atomic clocks are vital for GPS, finance, and telecommunications.

Seconds Skip as Wind Affects Atomic Clocks

High winds recently caused a power outage impacting some of the United States' most precise atomic clocks. The incident resulted in a time deviation of approximately five-millionths of a second. This minuscule delay, however, underscores the critical role these time standards play in various essential applications.

Despite the power disruption at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) campus in Boulder, Colorado, the overall impact was minimal. This is attributed to the robust, dispersed network of clocks and servers that form the national timekeeping system. Redundancies are specifically designed to mitigate the effects of such localized events.

The precision of atomic clocks is fundamental for scientific endeavors, telecommunications, and critical infrastructure, including GPS devices and financial transactions. While some direct fiber-optic links were affected, the inherent design of the system ensures continued accuracy and reliability for users accessing U.S. official time.