Last year, scientists drove up Mauna Loa volcano on Hawai‘i, aimed a laser at a reflector positioned on Haleakala peak on Maui, and beamed rapid pulses of laser light through 150 kilometers of turbulent air. While the pulses were exceedingly faint, they demonstrated a capability long sought by physicists: transmitting extremely precise time signals through the air between far-flung locations at powers that are compatible with future space-based missions.
Source: https://www.nist.gov/news-events/news/2023/06/nist-lays-groundwork-future-ultra-precise-timing-links-geosynchronous
(credit: B. Hayes/NIST).
July 3, 2023 | Originally published by NIST on June 21, 2023