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The Broad View

Get ready for the new, improved second

Scientists are preparing to redefine the fundamental unit of time. It won’t get any longer or shorter, but it will be more precise — and a whole lot more powerful.

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Published Sat, Apr 30, 2022 · 05:50 AM
    • Once, humans told time by looking at the heavens. But since 1967, metrologists have defined time instead by measuring atomic activity — clocking, as it were, the eternal heartbeat of the universe.
    • Once, humans told time by looking at the heavens. But since 1967, metrologists have defined time instead by measuring atomic activity — clocking, as it were, the eternal heartbeat of the universe. Photo: Pixabay

    Alanna Mitchell

    MODERN civilization, it is said, would be impossible without measurement. And measurement would be pointless if we weren’t all using the same units.

    So, for nearly 150 years, the world’s metrologists have agreed on strict definitions for units of measurement through the International Bureau of Weights and Measures, known by its French acronym BIPM, and based outside Paris.

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