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How an Atomic Clock Really Works: Inside the HP 5061A Cesium Clock

CuriousMarc · 464.9K views · 2020-03-20 · 25:10

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Overview

CuriousMarc powers up a vintage HP 5061A cesium beam clock and explains both the quantum principle and the HP implementation in detail. It is part of a longer atomic clock series.

On Hacker News

HN calls it one of the best explanations of how atomic clocks actually work.

Recommended by 4 HN people across 4 months · HN mentions 2020–2026

Topics

Electronics & circuit designEveryday physics & science demosHistory of computing
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cesium clockhp 5061atimekeepingvintage electronicsquantum physics

What people said

alnwlsn · 2026-08 · Strong recommendation

If you want to see how an actual application of this works, I've yet to see a description better than in CuriousMarc's HP 5061A series: [VIDEO]

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somat · 2022-10 · Strong recommendation

CuriousMarc has an excellent episode on an atomic clock. [VIDEO] I like to pretend I can fix computers, this guy can actually fix computers, which is probably why I find his show so fascinating.

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puzzledobserver · 2022-12 · Recommendation

CuriousMarc uploaded a video to Youtube showing the startup procedure for an HP 5061A cesium clock [0]. They switch on the clock and compare it to a GPS reference. Seeing the abstract description realized in concrete terms through hot cesium tubes, phase locked loops, and Lissajous curves was really fascinating. [0] [VIDEO]

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Sources

Video by CuriousMarc, played through YouTube.

Data and selection notes

HN summaries and labels may contain AI errors. HN dates refer to discussions, not video publication.

HN Library: HackerTube export (2026-10-31) and open-index/hacker-news. Upstream summaries and classifications may contain AI errors.

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