Atomic clocks are now taking part in all walks of life, from the GPS system, which relies on them for its accuracy, to fast communication that is synchronized according to them. Even entities such as electricity companies have recently begun to equip themselves with these systems.
The Chief Scientist of the Ministry of Economy recently approved a major plan (MIMD), according to which the atomic chip group at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev will be responsible for planning and manufacturing the next generation of atomic clocks for the State of Israel.
The team, which includes Dr. David Grosswasser, Menachem Givon, Dr. Yoni Yaffe and Prof. Ron Pullman, will design, develop and produce the first model of the next generation of watches, which will be based on cold atoms. The project will be carried out together with Accubit for atomic clocks.
Atomic clocks are now taking part in all walks of life, from the GPS system, which relies on them for its accuracy, to fast communication that is synchronized according to them. Even entities such as electricity companies have recently begun to equip themselves with these systems.
Atomic clocks are based on the enormous precision of the constants of nature, and in this case, the frequencies of atomic transitions, in which the electron is transferred from one level to another.
Dual program - military and civilian uses
Recently, the Office of the Chief Scientist at the Ministry of Economy (Hamadar) announced a collaboration with the Director of R&D and Scientific Infrastructures at the Ministry of Defense (MoD), within the framework of which the second round of the MIMD program is being launched, which encourages dual research and development - military/security and civilian / business. The program is operated by virtue of the order of the Director General of the Ministry of Industry, Trade - a track to support dual R&D.
As part of the program, the Office of the Chief Scientist awards a financial grant to industry and research institutions for dual research and development programs, that is, with business potential and the ability to respond to operational gaps. The budget scope for financing all applications this year is NIS 21 million.
More of the topic in Hayadan:
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In an era where the Chinese have the ability to hijack satellites, and entire technologies are built on GPS, an accurate synchronization source is important, where the cumulative error is a billion times smaller than a digital clock with a crystal. It's beautiful how the technological pendulum works.
Initially, all aerial navigation was based on gyros, that is, blind navigation. This was back in my time in 1989. Then everyone switched to GPS, and today software like IGO, WAZE are not military technology. Now they fear a war of destroying satellites in space and therefore return to the principle of the network and decentralization of resources. Fixed and mutually synchronized time bases can be produced, even in the absence of GPS. Accurate synchronization capability also brings capabilities that were not possible before, and are probably secret. In an atomic clock, every clock is almost as accurate as GPS. Israel invests in military technology sometimes beyond economic improvement, when our allies refuse to give us advanced technology and keep superiority for themselves. An example of this is their refusal to sell us YF-22 when for over a decade there are about 20 squadrons in the American Air Force. They do sell us YF-35, again with their technology. A similar thing happened in AA missile technology. It's a healthy thing in my opinion to be independent, when you make an informed choice about what you can be independent and must be independent. They also refuse to sell us the FXBT radar, which sits in the Negev, but sell it to Kuwait.
I have a friend who works at ELPD, and he hasn't stopped talking about atomic clocks lately. This is the hot thing in the whole world of technical planning.
Can someone please explain to me a little more in detail about the concept of "cold atoms"? And if the cesium nucleus is replaced by another nucleus?