A Japanese company has introduced the world’s most accurate clock, priced at $3.3 million, with precision so high that it would take 10 billion years to lose a single second.
The Aether Clock OC 020, developed by Kyoto-based Shimadzu Corp., is a strontium optical lattice clock, making it 100 times more precise than the caesium atomic clocks that currently define the global standard for measuring time.
Resembling a compact refrigerator, the machine stands about a meter tall and has a volume of 250 liters—relatively small for its category. Despite its size, it is designed for field research and scientific applications.
Shimadzu aims to sell at least 10 units over the next three years, targeting customers in fields such as geology and physics. One potential use is monitoring tectonic activity, which could aid in earthquake research.
Similar optical lattice clocks have previously been installed in Tokyo’s Skytree to test Einstein’s general theory of relativity, which suggests that time moves more slowly in areas with stronger gravity.