What is an Atomic Watch?
An atomic watch is a wristwatch that is radio controlled to keep the most accurate time on earth. You never need to set the time or date of an atomic watch because it receives a low-frequency radio signal nightly that keeps it in perfect synchronization with the U.S. Atomic Clock in Colorado.
An atomic watch is handy because it automatically adjusts for Daylight Saving Time (DST), often mispronounced as Daylight Savings Time, leap years and even leap seconds. It contains an internal antenna and program that is set to search once a day for the 60 Hz radio signal emitted from the WWVB transmitter in Ft. Collins. When it finds the signal it decodes the time then sets itself. If you travel overseas with an atomic watch, it will continue to function as a quartz watch but will not receive radio controlled updates. An atomic watch has a different mode setting for each time zone. When the watch receives the radio signal from the atomic clock, it also reads its internal program that stores the time zone setting. It then translates the atomic time to the proper time zone. Therefore if you travel to another time zone you will have to manually change the time zone setting of the watch. (For the atomic watch to know the time zone automatically, it would require integrated GPS.)
Atomic watches have a feature that allows you to see when it was last synchronized. You can also manually tell it to search for the radio signal; otherwise the watch is programmed to look for the signal in the middle of the night when radio interference is at a minimum.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is responsible for the NIST-F1 Cesium Fountain Atomic Clock in Ft. Collins that is used by atomic watches. Unlike previous clocks that relied on quartz oscillations to time a true second, the atomic clock is based on quantum mechanical principles and is part of an international group of atomic clocks that keep universal time.
An atomic watch can be battery or solar powered. Since the watch has no stem for manually setting the time, after a battery change the watch will not display the proper time until it finds the radio signal and sets itself. Initially, atomic watches were digital with plastic sports-style casings, but analog watches with stainless steel cases are also available. Watches start as low as $39 U.S. dollars and are widely available. They are also referred to as radio control watches or wave receptor watches. If you require or appreciate accurate time, there is no watch more accurate than an atomic watch!
Check out my other articles on Watch Dial
Source: Wisegeek.com
An atomic watch is a wristwatch that is radio controlled to keep the most accurate time on earth. You never need to set the time or date of an atomic watch because it receives a low-frequency radio signal nightly that keeps it in perfect synchronization with the U.S. Atomic Clock in Colorado.
An atomic watch is handy because it automatically adjusts for Daylight Saving Time (DST), often mispronounced as Daylight Savings Time, leap years and even leap seconds. It contains an internal antenna and program that is set to search once a day for the 60 Hz radio signal emitted from the WWVB transmitter in Ft. Collins. When it finds the signal it decodes the time then sets itself. If you travel overseas with an atomic watch, it will continue to function as a quartz watch but will not receive radio controlled updates. An atomic watch has a different mode setting for each time zone. When the watch receives the radio signal from the atomic clock, it also reads its internal program that stores the time zone setting. It then translates the atomic time to the proper time zone. Therefore if you travel to another time zone you will have to manually change the time zone setting of the watch. (For the atomic watch to know the time zone automatically, it would require integrated GPS.)
Atomic watches have a feature that allows you to see when it was last synchronized. You can also manually tell it to search for the radio signal; otherwise the watch is programmed to look for the signal in the middle of the night when radio interference is at a minimum.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is responsible for the NIST-F1 Cesium Fountain Atomic Clock in Ft. Collins that is used by atomic watches. Unlike previous clocks that relied on quartz oscillations to time a true second, the atomic clock is based on quantum mechanical principles and is part of an international group of atomic clocks that keep universal time.
An atomic watch can be battery or solar powered. Since the watch has no stem for manually setting the time, after a battery change the watch will not display the proper time until it finds the radio signal and sets itself. Initially, atomic watches were digital with plastic sports-style casings, but analog watches with stainless steel cases are also available. Watches start as low as $39 U.S. dollars and are widely available. They are also referred to as radio control watches or wave receptor watches. If you require or appreciate accurate time, there is no watch more accurate than an atomic watch!
Check out my other articles on Watch Dial
Source: Wisegeek.com
Thanks for the interesting post. Pretty fairly described about an Atomic watch.
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