A bauble, a mere bagatelle

Major geekdom - a cesium pocket watch -- from The Register:

Brit horologist hammers out �first� ATOMIC-POWERED watch
Could this be the chronometrist�s ultimate timepiece, the peak of horological haute couture? British bespoke movement maker Hoptroff today claimed to have produced the world�s first personal chronometer with an on board atomic clock.

The result, says Hoptroff, is a accuracy of 1.5 seconds every 3.15 x 1010 seconds - that�s 1000 years in less mind-boggling numbers.

At the heart of the movement is a Quantum SA.45s �chip scale atomic clock� made by US company Symmetricom, which specialises in high-precision timekeeping gadgetry, particularly for military, aerospace and national utility infrastructure applications. Cruise missiles use the technology to cope with GPS signal jamming. It�s also used underwater, where GPS signals won�t penetrate.

The unit contains a temperature controlled caesium gas chamber. A laser is used to heat the radioactive atoms, and a microwave resonator to detect the emissions from the atoms� electrons as they change energy levels. The frequency of the microwaves is highly stable and provides the clock�s beat.

A bit more:

Unfortunately, the SA.45s is small but not tiny. At 40 x 34.8 x 11.3mm, it�s too big to go into a wristwatch, so Hoptroff�s mechanism has been designed for pocket watches. Full- or half-hunter - or even open case - is presumably up to you.

Inside the case, Hoptroff has crammed a lithium-polymer battery fed through a micro USB port. It has also built in a Bluetooth radio, plus humidity, temperature and pressure sensors, and even a magnetometer - all of which help drive the 28 dials that make up the watch�s face.

Hoptroff�s atomic watch isn�t so much a product as a prototype. It�s only planning to make two dozen of them at first, which is probably wise since the price is an �if you need to ask...� unannounced five-figure sum.

And I bet that even at five figures, they will sell all of them. What an achievement! More from the manufacturer: Hoptroff Title of the post? Paul Laurence Dunbar