Feature: Clock and timing electronics
Figure 1: Illustration demonstrating the challenges of measuring with high accuracy [AI-generated image] Space, time and the amazing
hydrogen maser By David Chandler, Senior Product Line Manager, Atomic System Clocks, Frequency and Time Systems Business Unit, Microchip Technology
M
ankind’s exploration of space is inextricably linked to time. Whether using elapsed time as
the yardstick for distance measurements, providing precision time stamps to correlate data from observatories separated by thousands of miles, or simply observing the change in positions of astronomical bodies to determine the time of year,
the concept of space-time is more than an abstraction dreamed up by Einstein to explain relativity. As we travel and peer ever deeper into space, the timing demands on our ground control stations and radio astronomy observatories grow more challenging.
Distance to deep space network NASA tracks the distance between Earth and Voyager to one-meter accuracy. It doesn’t sound that difficult, but Voyager
26 November 2026
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is 25.7 billion km from Earth. Tis is approximately equivalent to asking a surveyor to measure the height of Mount Fuji to an accuracy of roughly one hydrogen atom diameter. Fortunately, we can measure distance
by measuring the time a radio signal spends on a round-trip voyage to Voyager. Light in a vacuum travels one meter in approximately 3.33ns. Reframing the distance measurement as a time measurement translates to a clock that
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