Prototype of "Atomichron" cesium-beam atomic frequency standard
date: label: Date made
content: 1956
name: label: maker
content: National Company
notes: label: Description
content: Object no. 319766.1 is the prototype Atomichron cesium-beam frequency standard proper, and object no. 319766.2 is the enclosing cylindrical vacuum chamber for the latter instrument.
label: Description
content: Object no. 319766.1, the frequency standard instrument, has the following components:
label: Description
content: 1.1, shield for beam tube in instrument;
label: Description
content: 1.1.1, short wire lead broken from end of beam tube shield;
label: Description
content: 1.2, lower end plate for the upper magnet in the instrument.
label: Description
content: The beam tube shield has a lacquered copper wire wound lengthwise around it . Two of the strands have broken. With the assistance of the NMAH Conservation shop, a plastic sleeve has been placed around the attached wires to protect them. See curator's file for details.
label: Description
content: The stainless steel vacuum chamber containing the first cesium-beam tube was produced by the National Company in collaboration with The Massachusetts Institution of Technology.
label: Description
content: This object was on display in the “Atomic Clocks” exhibition at the National Museum of American History (1982-88). For the exhibition, illustrative panels were created which complement the text in this object description. The panels were originated by Felix Geiger. Photographic images of the panels are archived in the Smithsonian's Digital Asset Management System (SI DAMS). The DAMS file numbers and respective image captions relating to this object are as follows:
label: Description
content: RWS2022-00197 - Diagram on exhibition panel: illustration of atomic-beam resonant method
label: Description
content: RWS2022-00206 - Diagram on exhibition panel: illustration of "Atomicron" cesium-beam frequency standard, 1956
label: Description
content: RWS2022-00209 - Diagram on exhibition panel: graph of instability for typical commercial cesium-beam atomic clock
label: Description
content: RWS2022-00210 - Diagram on exhibition panel: illustration of system for locking cesium-beam atomic clock rate to atomic vibrations
label: Description
content: Background on Object ID no. 319767, the MIT cesium-beam frequency standard, and on Object ID no. 319766, the Prototype of "Atomichron" cesium-beam atomic frequency standard
setName: label: See more items in
content: Medicine and Science: Modern Physics
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: National Company, Inc.
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: EM.319766.1
label: catalog number
content: 319766
label: accession number
content: 254092
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Clock
label: Other Terms
content: Clock; Atomic
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: metal (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall (approx.): 84 in x 10 in x 10 in; 213.36 cm x 25.4 cm x 25.4 cm