SCMP reports that China has developed a “portable” atomic clock, roughly the size of a single-door refrigerator, which can be loaded onto a truck for long-distance transport with bumpy roads and other harsh environments. In spite of the travel, the uncertainty of its timekeeping can be kept to less than one-fifth to a quadrillionth of a second.
“A high-precision timekeeping system is the backbone of modern warfare,” SCMP writes, “enabling radars separated by thousands of miles to operate in unison, as they detect and track elusive stealth fighters. It also improves the quality of signals in electronic warfare and facilitates the transmission of vast amounts of data.”
