Quantum fog, Rydberg atom state for calculating Time
There are two methods to measure time. One is radioactive dating using the carbon dating generally to calculate the age of fossils and rocks and the other is atomic clocks. The latter uses lasers to note periodic vibrations taking place within two atoms.
Since 1967, one second has been defined as the time it takes for one caesium electron to oscillate exactly 9,192,631,770 times.
Researchers discovered new method for calculating time. In our world of ticking clocks and swinging pendulums, identifying the difference between “then” and “now” is as easy as counting the seconds.
Yet then can’t always be predicted down to the quantum size of buzzing electrons. Even worse, “now” frequently turns into an ambiguous haze. In some situations, a stopwatch will not be effective.
The form of the quantum fog itself may hold the key to a solution, according to a 2022 study by scientists at Sweden’s Uppsala University. They discovered a fresh approach to measure time that doesn’t require a specific beginning point through tests on the wave-like properties of something called a Rydberg state.
The overinflated balloons of the particle kingdom are Rydberg atoms. These atoms are inflated with lasers rather than air and have electrons into higher energy state.
https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-found-an-entirely-new–way-of-measuring-time
In rare circumstances, a second laser can be employed to keep track of time-related changes in the electron’s location. These “pump-probe”methods can be used, for example, to gauge the speed of some ultrafast devices.
Engineers can use the ability to induce Rydberg states in atoms to their advantages, not least when creating unique parts for quantum computers. It goes without saying that physicists have learned a lot about how electrons behave when pushed into a Rydberg state.
Yet, because they are quantum creatures, their actions resemble an evening spent playing roulette rather than beads sliding around on a small abacus. Every ball roll and hop is combined into a single game of chance.
Rydberg wave packets are the mathematical playbook for this crazy game of Rydberg electron roulette. Similar to real waves, interference occurs when many Rydberg wave packets are present in an area, producing different patterns of ripples.
If you combine enough Rydberg wave packets, the resulting individual patterns will each indicate the unique amount of time it takes for the wave packets to evolve in unison.
Particular fingerprints of time using laser-excited helium atoms
The purpose of this series of studies was to examine these particular “fingerprints” of time and demonstrate that they were trustworthy and consistent enough to be used as a kind of quantum time stamping.
To demonstrate how their distinctive results may hold up over time, their study involves monitoring the outcomes of laser-excited helium atoms and comparing their results with theoretical expectations.
Zero must be define if a counter is being used. At some time, you begin counting physicist Marta Berholts from the University of Uppsala in Sweden, who led the team, explained to New Scientist in 2022.
The advantage of this is that you don’t need to start the clock, instead you can just glance at the interference structure and note that 4 nanoseconds have passed.
For various types of pump-probe spectroscopy that monitor events on a minute scale when now and then are less clear or are just too inconvenient to measure, a handbook of changing Rydberg wave packets might be employed.
It’s important to note that none of the fingerprints require a then and now to act as a temporal beginning and end. It would be comparable to evaluating a sprinter’s performance against a group of opponents who were all racing at the same pace.
Techniques were able to determine a timestamp for events that happened in the course of just 1.7 trillions of a second by searching for the signature of interfering Rydberg states among a sample of pump-probe atoms.
Unlike an atomic clock, which uses independent atoms to measure one second, the new quantum gas squeezes atoms together to measure time more accurately than ever before.
Future quantum watch experiments may utilise laser pulses of various intensities instead of helium or perhaps other atoms to explained the timestamps’ rulebook to accommodate a wider range of circumstances. Physical Review Research published the results of this study.
Source: sciencealert
