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From sundials and swinging pendulums to vibrating quartz crystals, humans have many ways of measuring the passage of time. But where accuracy is most essential – in global positioning systems and high-speed communication technologies, for example – we rely on atoms, which tick uniformly and are nearly impossible to interrupt. In this brief video, cleverly animated by Dog and Rabbit, the 1997 physics Nobel laureate William D Phillips explains how his team was able to unleash an atomic timekeeping revolution using lasers and mind-bogglingly low temperatures.
Video by Nature
Animator: Dog & Rabbit
video
History of science
How we came to know the size of the Universe – and what mysteries remain
26 minutes
video
Ecology and environmental sciences
Join endangered whooping cranes on their perilous migratory path over North America
6 minutes
video
Environmental history
In Kazakhstan, ‘atomic lakes’ still scar the landscape decades after Soviet nuclear tests
13 minutes
video
Oceans and water
A stunning visualisation explores the intricate circulatory system of our oceans
5 minutes
video
Architecture
A 3D rendering of the Colosseum captures its architectural genius and symbolic power
17 minutes
video
Language and linguistics
Do button-pushing dogs have something new to say about language?
9 minutes
video
History of science
Ideas ‘of pure genius’ – how astronomers have measured the Universe across history
29 minutes
video
Making
On the Norwegian coast, a tree is transformed into a boat the old-fashioned way
6 minutes
video
Computing and artificial intelligence
A future in which ‘artificial scientists’ make discoveries may not be far away
9 minutes