atomic clock
noun
: a precision clock that depends for its operation on an electrical oscillator regulated by the natural vibration frequencies of an atomic system (such as a beam of cesium atoms)
Examples of atomic clock in a Sentence
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Unlike traditional atomic clocks, which measure time based on the behavior of electrons orbiting an atom, a nuclear clock tracks energy transitions within the atomic nucleus.
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Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 27 Oct. 2025
Since then, cooling atoms and trapping them has become a cottage industry, giving rise to optical atomic clocks, atomic navigation systems, and neutral-atom quantum computers.
—IEEE Spectrum, 24 Sep. 2025
With that kind of narrowing, nuclear clocks are projected to surpass atomic clocks as the most sensitive instruments for probing ultralight dark matter.
—New Atlas, 16 Sep. 2025
Weiss developed a precise atomic clock, and was also a pioneer in the measurement of a cosmic fossil called the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), leftover radiation from an event just after the Big Bang.
—Robert Lea, Space.com, 27 Aug. 2025
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Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 27 Oct. 2025
Since then, cooling atoms and trapping them has become a cottage industry, giving rise to optical atomic clocks, atomic navigation systems, and neutral-atom quantum computers.
—IEEE Spectrum, 24 Sep. 2025
With that kind of narrowing, nuclear clocks are projected to surpass atomic clocks as the most sensitive instruments for probing ultralight dark matter.
—New Atlas, 16 Sep. 2025
Weiss developed a precise atomic clock, and was also a pioneer in the measurement of a cosmic fossil called the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), leftover radiation from an event just after the Big Bang.
—Robert Lea, Space.com, 27 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for atomic clock
Cite this Entry
“Atomic clock.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/atomic%20clock. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
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