Currently, atomic clocks, capable of registering ultra-fast fluctuations in the energy states of particles or atoms, have astonishing precision, but they do not reach absolute perfection.
A group of scientists , led by Mikhail Lukin of Harvard University, proposes to further refine the measurement of time with a new concept: the quantum super clock.
This device would be based on the principle of quantum entanglement, a strange physical phenomenon that unites the particles, regardless of the distance that separates them: when a property is observed in one of them, the same property appears in its “partner”.
The idea is to create a network of perfectly timed atomic clocks thanks to this interconnection . So far, scientists have managed to entangle 14 atoms at a time, but without the precision required to make the ultimate super clock.
This device would serve, for example, to synchronize the satellites in space as much as possible , improve the functioning of the GPS or detect the tiny wrinkles in the space-time fabric that appeared shortly after the big bang.
