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What if the Earth stopped spinning?

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Michael Stevens of Vsauce looks at what would happen if the Earth stopped spinning. He also explores how we construct time as a function of the Earth's rotation and why atomic clocks are so precise.

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Why are atomic clocks the most precise way of telling time?

a

"Normal" clocks measure time based on the amount of time it takes the Earth to spin 360º. The rotation of the Earth can change and affect the length of a solar day.

b

An atomic clock is nuclear powered so it will never turn off.

c

An atomic clock measures time based on the time it takes a Cesium electron to oscillate around nine billion times, which is about 1 second.

d

Both A and C.

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Video created by Vsauce
Lesson Plan created by Andrew Katz