That's an excellent point, Bob. We have friends who have friends who are involved with the long baseline interferometry (LIGO) lab in Louisiana. I will inquire and, if they have any relevant information I will pass it along to you.
Thanks for your reply. On Tuesday, June 4, 2019, Bob kb8tq <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi > > One very basic thing that precision clocks allow you to dig deeper into is > gravity. A gravity wave passing between two clocks should show up as a > time > ripple. > > Bob > > > On Jun 4, 2019, at 12:43 PM, William H. Fite <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > Warning: Potentially heretical material below > > > > Let me begin by saying I am neither an engineer nor a time expert. My PhD > > is in statistics and my spouse's PhD is in theoretical computer science, > > working on quantum computer algorithms. Neither of us claims any special > > expertise when it comes to time and frequency measurement. I am a radio > > amateur and I came to this group following a recommendation from John > > Ackermann, who very kindly answered some questions for me regarding the > > amateur radio frequency measurement test. I thoroughly enjoy the dialogue > > here and I think that I have learned a bit about the subject though, by > any > > standard of this group, I am the rankest newbie. > > > > My question is a serious one. I am not trolling, nor am I trying to begin > > an argument, nor am I implying criticism of anyone or any endeavor, here > or > > elsewhere. > > > > What useful purpose, if any, is served by the continuing evolution of > > clocks like NIST-F2 that now achieve accuracy along the lines of one > second > > per many billions of years? Are there tangible benefits to be had? I > > consulted an astronomer friend who advised that the current generation of > > clocks would allow a suitable space vehicle to plant a probe squarely in > > the middle of Alpha Centauri, if rocket technology existed to do so. We > > have many friends in the academic computer science community who say that > > neither conventional nor quantum computers that exist at present or in > the > > projectable future require anything like this kind of accuracy. > > > > By no means am I questioning the value of new knowledge qua knowledge. > For > > theoreticians like the one to whom I am wedded, no justification is > needed > > beyond the words of mountaineer George Mallory: "Because it's there." I'm > > sure that engineers and scientists in the field of time and frequency > > measurement feel the same. From that perspective, there need be no > > rationalization beyond the desire to do it just a little better than it > has > > been done. > > > > Please don't lecture me about the value of science for its own sake. My > > career has largely been built on that principle. I'd like to be informed > as > > to present or anticipated applications that require such accuracy. Are we > > developing these incredible devices just to push boundaries? Or do they > > have some practical purpose? > > > > I'll appreciate thoughtful answers. Dismissive and/or snarky replies will > > be deleted unread. > > > > Thanks for your help. > > > > > > -- > > Homo sum humani a me nihil alienum puto. > > _______________________________________________ > > time-nuts mailing list -- [email protected] > > To unsubscribe, go to http://lists.febo.com/mailman/ > listinfo/time-nuts_lists.febo.com > > and follow the instructions there. > > > _______________________________________________ > time-nuts mailing list -- [email protected] > To unsubscribe, go to http://lists.febo.com/mailman/ > listinfo/time-nuts_lists.febo.com > and follow the instructions there. > -- Homo sum humani a me nihil alienum puto. _______________________________________________ time-nuts mailing list -- [email protected] To unsubscribe, go to http://lists.febo.com/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts_lists.febo.com and follow the instructions there.
