How Super-Precise Atomic Clocks Will Change the World in a Decade

The best timepiece in the world lives deep in a '60s-style concrete government building, where it resembles nothing so much as a teenager's science-fair project: a jumble of polished lenses and mirrors converging on a gleaming silver cylinder, all protected by a tent of clear plastic nailed to a frame of two-by-fours.

Called the NIST-F1, this atomic clock is more accurate for prolonged periods than any other clock -- an order of magnitude better than the one it replaced in 1999. However, when the F2 down the hall goes online next year, it will similarly dwarf the F1.

Read all about how precise atomic clocks will change the world we know in a decade.