Christophe Salomon and the measurement of time: the transition to atomic time

Parution dans la presse

For centuries, mankind has been trying to master time with ever more precise clocks, today achieving a drift of just one picosecond per day. How have cold atoms made it possible to refine this measurement, and what's the point of such a quest for precision?

04.12.2025
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Mathieu Baumer

Christophe Salomon, physicist, CNRS Director of Research Emeritus at the Kastler Brossel Laboratory (LKB) at ENS, member of the French Academy of Sciences, member of the American Physical Society and the European Physical Society, and Balzan Prize 2025.


Winner of the Balzan Prize 2025, physicist Christophe Salomon is internationally recognized for his work on laser-cooled atoms used in atomic clocks. He is our guest today.

 

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