Crystal clocks, ticks

The working of the CPU is controlled by a crystal clock having a frequency, generally, of 16 to 25 MHz, depending on the type of computer. All electronic moves are controlled by the clock and operate in sequence to its ticking. 

The decay of °Th leads to radioisotopes of other elements, ultimately concluding with the stable isotope lead-206. Happily, some of the oldest rocks on Earth, called zircons, contain no lead when they are formed. This means that the amount of lead they accumulate over time from uranium decay reflects their age. Until the rocks crystallized, uranium atoms could move freely through the molten magma from which they formed, and decayed uranium could be replenished. Solidification of a zircon does for uranium what an organism s death does for radiocarbon it stops the influx of fresh radioactive material, and the decay clock starts ticking. Because of U s long half-life, zircons can be dated back to the Earth s earliest days. 

When an atom makes a transition from a high-energy quantum state to a lower energy state, electromagnetic radiation with a definite frequency and a definite period is emitted. When properly detected, this frequency, or period, becomes the ticking of an atomic clock, just as the crystal vibration frequency and the swinging frequency are the inaudible ticks of a quartz clock and a pendulum clock. The frequency emanating from the atom, however, is much less influenced by environmental factors such as temperature, pressure, humidity, and acceleration than are the frequencies from quartz crystals or pendula. Thus, atomic clocks hold inherently the potential for reproducibility, stability, and accuracy. 

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