Recent Advances in Metrology and Fundamental Constants

Download or read book Recent Advances in Metrology and Fundamental Constants written by Terry J. Quinn and published by IOS Press. This book was released on 2001 with total page 886 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over the last decade of the 20th century, many improvements took place in the field of metrology and fundamental constants. These developments and improvements are discussed in this book. The old caesium SI second definition has found a new realization with the fountain approach, replacing the classical thermal atomic beam. The use of cold atom techniques, slowed down and cooled, has opened a number of unexpected avenues for metrology and fundamental constants, one of these possibilities being the atom interferometry. Another development was the demonstration of the possiblility of performing a direct frequency division in the visible, using short femtosecond pulses. Many other developments are also discussed.