A secretive laboratory in the UK is working on the country’s first quantum clock to enhance the British military’s intelligence and reconnaissance capabilities, according to the Ministry of Defence. The clock will be incredibly precise, losing less than one second over billions of years, allowing for time measurement on an unprecedented scale.
Minister for Defence Procurement, Maria Eagle, stated that this cutting-edge technology could not only improve military operations but also foster innovation in industry, advance the science sector, and create skilled jobs. The quantum clock, developed by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, will reduce reliance on GPS technology, which can be vulnerable to interference from adversaries.
While the US developed a quantum clock 15 years ago, this is the first such technology to be created in the UK, and it could be used by the military within the next five years. Quantum clocks rely on quantum mechanics to measure energy fluctuations in atoms with remarkable accuracy. This technology has applications in satellite navigation, mobile communications, and digital television and could open new possibilities in quantum research.
