clocks

Solving the mystery of blackbody radiation brings on the quantum revolution. Phil Schewe, Emily Edwards, and Steve Rolston discuss this pivotal moment for modern physics. 2006 Nobel Prize laureate John Mather discusses how his work relates to blackbody radiation.

The Joint Quantum Institute would like to again congratulate the 2012 Nobel Prize in physics recipients, David Wineland and Serge Haroche. The Nobel Prize committee cites Wineland and Haroche “for ground-breaking experimental methods that enable measuring and manipulation of individual quantum systems.” The awards were bestowed during the ceremony in Stockholm on December 10, 2012.

Modern precision measurements are spectacular feats of engineering. An excellent example is determining the passage of time. Before John Harrison’s marine chronometer in the mid 18th century, ship clocks lost so much time that the sailors themselves often became lost as well. Today’s global positioning system (GPS) relies on rubidium and cesium atomic clocks aboard satellites. These clocks, precise to about one second per 30,000 years are far better than those used in the early days of navigation.