Pulsars Maybe Most Accurate Clock Ever

The most accurate clocks in the world today are atomic clocks. These clocks are very important to all manner of things from space travel to synchronization of military efforts. Scientists have discovered what may be an even more accurate clock than the atomic variety.

Astronomers have discovered that Pulsars may be usable as a means of getting a more accurate clock. The thing that has kept the pulsar from being viable as a clock until now is that the pulsating was slightly out of state.

A team of scientists from the UK has determined that a pulsar switches between to spin-down rates abruptly and unpredictably. The team says that a detailed study of the pulsars light will allow the application of a correction formula to improve the capability of the pulsar to be used for a clock. The hope is that a pulsar clock can be applied to gravitational waves. These gravitational waves have never been observed, but were suggested by Einstein's theory of general relativity.