Talk:Caesium standard

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Re; Using Caesium 133 as the standard second.

I appreciate this is the most accurate way to get close to an actual solar second of earthcentric time, But why don't we use Hydrogen (tritium isotope) as a way to have a common standard time second with the complete universe.

If we did how many Ceasium 133 Seconds would there be in a Tritium Second?

Thanks. Bill in Toronto

Caesium-133 is a stable isotope. Tritium has a half-life of about 12 years, meaning that every 12 years, you'll have to replace half of it. And it's horribly expensive.

I'm also confused about your "actual solar second of earthcentric time". The second under SI is a simple measurement of experienced time, defined using Caesium-133. As for a "standard time second with the complete universe", there is none, the passage of time is completely dependent on your local reference frame. Ask Einstein.

Underjack 02:39, 27 September 2007 (UTC)