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New single ion clock is '100 times more precise' than existing atomic models
Researchers at the University of New South Wales have developed a new type of atomic clock that measures an atom's neutron orbit instead of the electron's flight path. This method is apparently accurate to 19 decimal places, with several lasers shifting electrons in a certain way, allowing Professor Victor Flambaum to measure the "pendulum" motion of the neutron. It's purportedly close to 100 times more precise than its predecessors -- all with no freezing involved. These existing atomic clocks may be accurate beyond 100 million years, but for this new breed of hyper-accurate timekeeping, you'll only need to reset the clock once every 14 billion years. And we have no idea how they calculated that.
Australian Xbox 360 launch possibly delayed
The Xbox 360 was due to drop down under on March 2nd, but it appears there's a problem. According to increasingly reliable speculation, PALGN is reporting that their "sources have now confirmed that the launch date has been pushed back by three weeks, until March 23rd."David Mclean, Xbox Australia and New Zealand director, had said back in November, "Based on launch and production capacity we are hoping not to have any stock issues, but it is difficult to forecast demand." I guess he didn't hope hard enough.The flip side of the coin is that the number of launch games will increase as a result, including the very pretty Elder Scrolls: Oblivion and Timeshift. This is of course all speculative until Microsoft confirms it. If it's true, you can always play some 360 in the back of those utes they got driving around there. I still want to see some pix of the insides of one of those things.[Thanks, Michael]
