Future electronics may depend on lasers, not quartz
Saturday, July 19, 2014 - 23:00
in Physics & Chemistry
Nearly all electronics require devices called oscillators that create precise frequencies -- frequencies used to keep time in wristwatches or to transmit reliable signals to radios. For nearly a century, these oscillators have relied upon quartz crystals to provide a frequency reference, much like a tuning fork is used as a reference to tune a piano. A new approach could ultimately replace the quartz crystal frequency reference -- technology in use since the 1920s.