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How an Atomic Clock Really Works: Inside the HP 5061A Cesium Clock

CuriousMarc

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YouTube
  • Recommended by 4 people: 4 on Hacker News.
  • A classic. People kept recommending it from 2020 to 2026.

Intermediate. Assumes working knowledge.

464K views6 years ago4 recommendations

HardwareHistory and cultureRetro computingElectronicsHistory of computing

Marc explains the quantum physics principles and hardware implementation of the vintage HP 5061A cesium atomic clock.

I finally get my hands on what I consider a holy instrument: the HP 5061A Cesium clock. We'll turn it on and play with it, of course, but I'll also explain how it works in more details than most videos, both the quantum physics principle and the HP implementation. What makes it tick is just mind blowing. See continuation in part 2 here: youtu.be/xTy1kY_wtsY Atomic clock playlist: youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-_93BVApb59F6V90OdcqVofqVWceR6Dk Cody's Lab Cesium video: youtu.be/rSJGwnERIVU Our sponsor for PCBs: pcbway.com Support the team on Patreon: patreon.com/curiousmarc Buy shirts on Teespring: teespring.com/stores/curiousmarcs-store Learn more on companion site: curiousmarc.com Contact info: youtube.com/curiousmarc/about Music Credits: Crinoline Dreams by Kevin MacLeod (www.incompetech.com) Scott Joplin's Nonpareil Rag by Scott Kirby (scottkirby.net/)

Why it's here

4 people recommend this

What people say. Recommended as an exceptionally clear explanation of how atomic clocks work and how they are implemented in hardware.

somaton Hacker News • Recommends

On “Time is an illusion, Unix time doubly so”

CuriousMarc has an excellent episode on an atomic clock. link to this video I like to pretend I can fix computers, this guy can actually fix computers, which is probably why I find his show so fascinating.

alnwlsnon Hacker News • Recommends

On “Atomic Clocks”

If you want to see how an actual application of this works, I've yet to see a description better than in CuriousMarc's HP 5061A series: link to this video

kenson Hacker News • Recommends

On “Living Without Atomic Clocks (2016)”

CuriousMarc made a video last week where he uses a vintage HP 5061A atomic clock and explains how it works. It's interesting to see that atomic clocks aren't just some giant laboratory thing, but a product you could buy, even in the 1960s. link to this video

puzzledobserveron Hacker News • Recommends

On “The state of the art in amateur timekeeping (2003) [pdf]”

CuriousMarc uploaded a video to Youtube showing the startup procedure for an HP 5061A cesium clock 0. They switch on the clock and compare it to a GPS reference. Seeing the abstract description realized in concrete terms through hot cesium tubes, phase locked loops, and Lissajous curves was really fascinating. 0 link to this video