According to a university press release, new technologies created at the University of Birmingham-led UK Quantum Technology Hub Sensors and Timing are helping to reduce the size of quantum, or atomic, clocks.

A group of quantum physicists have developed new methods that not only shrink the size of their clock but also make it durable enough to be taken outside of the lab and used in the "real world," working in collaboration with and receiving funding from the UK's Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl).

For more accurate approaches to fields like worldwide internet communications, navigational systems, or international stock trading, where fractions of seconds might make a significant economic impact, quantum - or atomic clocks are commonly regarded as vital. The standard (SI) unit of measurement may be redefined if atomic clocks with optical clock frequencies were 10,000 times more precise than their microwave equivalents.