[time-nuts] Part 2: Atomic Clocks: It is important that they keep good time.

[Richard (Rick) Karlquist]

On 1/4/2019 4:07 PM, Rice, Hugh (IPH Writing Systems) wrote:

> In about 1987, Jim Horner, the general manager of SCD, said:  "If we keep the official time for the US Naval Observatory, we should have a fancy display in the lobby showing exact time."   This would allow us to showcase our technology to customers and dignitaries that would visit the site.     But there was a catch:  IT MUST ALWAYS HAVE THE CORRECT TIME.    (Oh, and PFS engineering needed to find the money to pay for it.   But it didn't wind up being all the expensive.)

This is in contrast to the wall clocks scattered around the Santa Clara 
campus which NEVER had the correct time and didn't even agree with
each other.  As of June of 2018, the clocks in those buildings
still did not work right.  They are typically several MINUTES in error.
They are like the remotely controlled clocks in my schools in
the 1960's, except the school clocks actually worked, at least
most of the time.  I think they still have the original ones
from 1969.  Analog clocks with hands :-).

The old standards lab is now the "Werner Von Braun" conference room.

Rick