alnwlsnAug 2026Strongly recommends
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: ▶ this video
in “Atomic Clocks” · View on HN
How an Atomic Clock Really Works: Inside the HP 5061A Cesium Clock
How an Atomic Clock Really Works: Inside the HP 5061A Cesium Clock on HackerTube: recommended by 4 Hacker News commenters across 4 separate months, 2020–2026.
CuriousMarc
Open on YouTubeexplainer · intermediate · evergreen
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.
Why Hacker News recommends it
HN calls it one of the best explanations of how atomic clocks actually work.
- people recommended it
- 4
- separate months
- 4
- strong recommendations
- 2
- discussed on HN
- 2020–2026
“I've yet to see a description better than in CuriousMarc's HP 5061A series”
What HN commenters said
4 Hacker News comments link this video. Each one links back to its thread.
somatOct 2022Strongly recommends
CuriousMarc has an excellent episode on an atomic clock. ▶ this 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.
in “Time is an illusion, Unix time doubly so” · View on HN
puzzledobserverDec 2022Recommends
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] ▶ this video
in “The state of the art in amateur timekeeping (2003) [pdf]” · View on HN
kensMar 2020Recommends
CuriousMarc made a video last week where he uses a vintage HP 5061A atomic clock and explains how it works. It's interesting to see that atomic clocks aren't just some giant laboratory thing, but a product you could buy, even in the 1960s. ▶ this video
in “Living Without Atomic Clocks (2016)” · View on HN
Topics & tags
Electronics & circuit designEveryday physics & science demosHistory of computingcesium clockhp 5061atimekeepingvintage electronicsquantum physics