Tech
Top secret lab is developing the UK’s first quantum clock

Published
1 month agoon
By
Ekwutos Blog
- READ MORE: Google’s quantum chip can perform ‘impossible’ tasks in five mins
A top secret lab is developing a super-precise ‘quantum clock’ that could revolutionize British intelligence.
This super-accurate timekeeping device, to be rolled out by 2029, will allow more precise navigation and surveillance on Royal Navy ships and RAF planes.
It will also ‘enhance the accuracy of advanced weapons’ like guided missiles and give British computer boffins the edge over online adversaries like cyber criminals.
The clock’s precision will be so refined that it will lose less than one second over billions of years, allowing scientists to measure time at an unprecedented scale.
It is the first device of its kind to be built in the UK and will be deployable on military operations in the next five years, according to Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL).
‘This first trial of advanced atomic clock represents a significant achievement in the UK’s quantum technology capabilities,’ said DSTL chief executive Paul Hollinshead.
‘The data gathered will not only shape future defence effort but is also a signal to industry and academia that we are serious about exploring quantum technologies for secure and resilient operational advantage.’
Quantum clocks use quantum mechanics – the physics of matter and energy at the atomic and subatomic scale – to keep time with unprecedented accuracy by measuring energy fluctuations within atoms.

Developed at the top-secret Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, (Dstl) the quantum clock will improve British intelligence and surveillance by decreasing the reliance on GPS technology, which can be disrupted and blocked by adversaries

To be rolled out by 2029, the quantum clock will allow more precise navigation and surveillance on Royal Navy ships and RAF planes. Pictured, Royal Navy Duke class Type 23 anti-submarine frigate HMS Portland
Quantum clocks are even more accurate that the ‘atomic clocks’, of which there are approximately 400 already in operation around the world.
The UK already has an atomic clock at the National Physical Laboratory in London, but this quantum clock will be the country’s first.
Nick France, CTO of Sectigo, told MailOnline: ‘A quantum clock is a type of atomic clock – essentially a super-accurate timekeeping device.
‘Atomic clocks work by measuring the resonant frequency of atoms, whereas quantum clocks measure very small energy changes (‘quantum fluctuations’) in these atoms, leading to increased accuracy even over super-accurate atomic clocks.
‘Atomic clocks currently are incredibly accurate anyway, but a quantum clock has accuracy levels where only a single second is lost in billions of years of operation.’
The British quantum clock will be ‘the first device of its kind to be built in the UK’, said the UK government in a statement, but it will not be a world first.
Back in 2010, the University of Colorado at Boulder developed a quantum clock with the US National Institute of Standards and Technology.
However, key barriers to deploying quantum clocks are their size – current models come in a van or in a car trailer and are about 1,500 litres in volume.

Atomic clocks use certain resonance frequencies of atoms to keep time with extreme accuracy. Pictured, atomic clock at the University of Colorado Boulder in the US

Back in 2010, the University of Colorado at Boulder developed a quantum clock with the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (pictured)

Pictured, NIST-F1, source of the official time of the USA
Potential of quantum clocks
- Enable more precise and independent navigation systems, reducing reliance on GPS satellites, which are vulnerable to jamming or destruction in conflict scenarios.
- Secure communications systems, such as encrypted military networks, which depend on highly synchronised timekeeping.
- Enhance the accuracy of advanced weapon systems, like guided missiles, which rely on accurate timing to calculate trajectories and coordinate attacks.
- Allow Armed Forces to gain an edge over adversaries in timing-critical operations, especially in areas like cyber warfare, where milliseconds can make a difference.
Source: DSTL
Just like most quantum equipment, quantum also have sensitivity to environmental factors such as heat and air molecules, limiting their transport between different places.
‘Quantum clocks are not small like watches or alarm clocks,’ France added.
‘These are devices that in current implementations can be large, even room-sized devices.
‘However, improvements in technology will decrease the size of these devices making them more portable.’
Apart from just ultra-precise timekeeping, quantum clocks could transform global navigation systems by helping satellite communications and aircraft navigation.
According to DSTL, their quantum clock will enable more precise and independent navigation systems, reducing reliance on GPS satellites, which are vulnerable to jamming or destruction in conflict scenarios.
It will improve communications systems, such as encrypted military networks, which depend on highly synchronised timekeeping, as well as boosting the accuracy of advanced weapon systems like guided missiles, which rely on accurate timing to calculate trajectories and coordinate attacks.
What’s more, British Armed Forces will get an edge over adversaries in ‘timing-critical operations’, such as cyber warfare, where milliseconds can make a difference.

Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is defined by sophisticated, ultra-precise ‘atomic clocks’ around the world, which tick precisely and continuously. Experts are pictured here with the NIST-F2 atomic clock in the US
Cyber warfare refers to the actions by a nation-state or international organization to attack and attempt to damage another nation’s computers or information networks.
France told MailOnline: ‘Super-accurate timekeeping is important to governments and militaries to enable accurate navigation (using GPS or similar technologies) of planes and ships, but also guidance of weapons systems such as missiles.
‘Equally important to the military as well as civilians is secure communications.
‘Much of the secure communications for governments and the military relies on accurate time sources to function.
‘But equally these accurate clocks are useful for more civilian applications and general internet security, even securing your personal data as it’s transmitted around the internet.’
Companies and governments around the world are keen to cash in on the huge potential benefits that the spooky effects of quantum technology could bring.
Google last month unveiled a new quantum computing chip it said could do in minutes what it would take leading supercomputers 10 septillion years to complete.
Eventually, such a chip could power a ‘commercial’ quantum computer that could be purchased by members of the public and used in labs, offices and even homes.
These ultra-powerful machines, which use the spooky effects of quantum physics, could do everything from speed up AI, solve climate changeand discover lifesaving drugs.
WHAT IS THE ATOMIC CLOCK?
Atomic clocks have a timekeeping mechanism that use the interaction of electromagnetic radiation with the excited states of certain atoms.
The devices are the most accurate system we have for measuring time, with consistent standards applied.
They are the primary standards for international time distribution services, and uses to control wave frequency for TV, GPS and other services.
The principle is founded in atomic physics, measuring the electromagnetic signal that electrons in atoms emit when they change energy levels.
Modern versions cool atoms to near absolute zero by slowing the atoms down with lasers. With temperature of atoms driving their accuracy.
Every few years a ‘leap second’ is added to atomic clocks, by effectively stopping them for a second, to keep them in line with Earth’s rotation speed.
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Tech
NASA finally sets a return date for its stranded astronauts

Published
2 days agoon
February 12, 2025By
Ekwutos Blog
- READ MORE: Tim Peake reveals what life is REALLY like for NASA’s astronauts
NASA has finally set a return date for its stranded astronauts – and it seems the pair don’t have long to wait to come back to Earth.
Veteran astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were due to spend eight days on the International Space Station (ISS) but have been there for more than eight months after their Boeing Starliner spacecraft suffered propulsion problems.
Although their return craft has been docked with the station since September, Williams and Wilmore have been stuck while NASA prepares to send their replacements in the Crew 10 mission.
The mission was originally pushed back to late March, but the space agency now says it is ‘accelerating’ the launch to target Wednesday, March 12.
Crew 9, which includes Williams and Wilmore, will then spend a few days handing over to the new arrivals before making their way back to Earth.
The mission is scheduled to launch ‘pending mission readiness’, but further delays are possible if there is not an appropriate weather window.
Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, says: ‘Human spaceflight is full of unexpected challenges.
‘Our operational flexibility is enabled by the tremendous partnership between NASA and SpaceX and the agility SpaceX continues to demonstrate to safely meet the agency’s emerging needs.’
Wilmore and Williams first arrived at the ISS on June 5 last year aboard the Boeing Starliner spacecraft but became stranded after the experimental craft developed serious issues.
By the time the capsule arrived at the station, it had sprung a number of helium leaks, and five of its 28 thrusters had failed.
After weeks of tests, NASA ultimately decided that Starliner wasn’t safe enough to carry humans back to Earth and in September, the doomed spacecraft was sent home empty.
The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft they are scheduled to return on arrived later that month, but the pair must wait until March to use it.
Since Williams and Wilmore have become official members of NASA’s Crew 9 mission, they must wait to hand over with Crew 10 before leaving the station.
Originally, the Crew 10 mission was due to launch in February aboard a brand-new SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule.
However, the mission had to be delayed when it emerged that SpaceX was not able to complete the construction and testing of the new capsule on time.
NASA explains that this latest scheduling change comes after SpaceX agreed to use a Crew Dragon capsule called Endurance which has already been used three times.

Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft was plagued by technical issues even before it launched. By the time it arrived at the ISS, it had sprung more helium leaks and five of its 28 thrusters had failed, leaving Williams and Wilmore stranded
SpaceX and NASA are now working together to assess the spacecraft’s hardware, refurbish the interior, and get it ready for flight.
The capsule will launch with NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov.
Crew 10 will then meet with Williams and Wilmore on the ISS for a brief handover period window in which they will be familiarised with ongoing scientific and maintenance projects.
Finally, Crew 9 will return home with NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore, Suni Williams, and Nick Hague alongside Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov.
Pending good weather conditions, the capsule should splash down off the coast of Florida.
This announcement comes after Donald Trump called for SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to ‘go get’ the stranded astronauts and blamed delays on former president Joe Biden.
In a statement posted to his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote: ”I have just asked Elon Musk and SpaceX to “go get” the two brave astronauts who have been virtually abandoned by the Biden administration.’
He added: ‘Elon will soon be on his way. Hopefully, all will be safe. Good luck Elon!!!’

Having now become part of the NASA Crew 9 mission, Williams (pictured) and Wilmore must wait until the Crew 10 mission arrives so that they can hand over to their replacement crew

The mission to collect the stranded astronauts has been accelerated after SpaceX agreed to use a previously used Crew Dragon capsule rather than a new spacecraft which was not going to be ready in time

This comes after SpaceX CEO Elon Musk (left) and Donald Trump (right) created confusion by claiming that Musk had been ordered to ‘go get’ the stranded astronauts, despite the mission being planned for months in advance
In response, Musk tweeted: ‘The @POTUS has asked @SpaceX to bring home the 2 astronauts stranded on the @Space_Station as soon as possible. We will do so.
‘Terrible that the Biden administration left them there so long.’
These statements spread widespread confusion on social media given that SpaceX had been tasked with bringing the pair home months ago by Biden administration.
Likewise, despite the most recent delays being caused by SpaceX, Musk has been quick to celebrate the accelerated timeline.
In a post on X Musk wrote: ‘They’re coming home.’
In January, Wilmore and Williams said their spirits were still high, adding that they had plenty of food and were enjoying their time on the space station.
Yet there has been growing concern for the pair’s health after images appeared to show Williams looking thin and gaunt.
Williams has pushed back against the claims, blaming her appearance of unusual fluid distribution in microgravity and claiming that she has actually gained muscle in her legs.

Pictures of mission commander Williams have since sparked health concerns due to her ‘gaunt’ appearance. Williams maintains that she has actually gained weight while in space and that her unusual appearance is due to ‘fluid shift’
But, in January, Williams admitted that she had forgotten what it was like to walk after 234 days in space.
‘I’ve been up here long enough, right now I’ve been trying to remember what it’s like to walk. I haven’t walked. I haven’t sat down. I haven’t laid down,’ she said during a video call with students at Needham High School in Massachusetts.
However, NASA maintains that their astronauts are trained for extended stays in space and that some deterioration of muscle function is entirely normal.
If Williams and Wilmore do return home in late March as expected, their mission will have lasted two months longer than a standard long-term ISS mission, which typically lasts six months.
While their protracted stay is notable, it has not yet surpassed Frank Rubio’s record-breaking 371 days aboard the ISS, which he completed in 2023 after the Russian spacecraft designated for his return developed a coolant leak.
Tech
Outrage Across The Country As MTN Increases The Price Of 15GB Data From N2k To N6k

Published
3 days agoon
February 11, 2025By
Ekwutos Blog
Nigerians have expressed outrage as telecoms giant, MTN increased price of data, calls and other services.
On Tuesday morning, February 11, 2025, many subscribers in Nigeria took to social media to criticise the increase, calling it exploitative and unfair, especially amid rising economic hardships.
Apparently, the weekly data package of 15GB which initially cost N2,000 only days ago unexpectedly surged to a whooping N6,000
An user, @gbolahan2211 said: “Imagine MTN @MTNNG increasing their tariff 15gb overnight without prior notice to customers. This is no way to do things man. I even sent them a message and they told me cause they wanna serve me better. Damn!!”
Another user @GIFTy6286 wrote: “If they like they should increase it to 1m,we will survive”
@AfrokonnectNG reacted: “This sudden price increase from ₦2,000 to ₦6,000 for 15GB is wild! How are people supposed to cope with such an outrageous hike? Internet access is essential for work, education, and staying connected, yet it’s being priced like a luxury.
“At this rate, users may be forced to look for alternatives or reduce their data consumption drastically. MTN really needs to reconsider this move because it’s not sustainable for the average Nigerian. What do you think about this development?”
@Gorilla23mp asked: “But this is almost 200% increment, I thought they said it won’t be up to 100%?”
@TheSilvapr lamented; “Nigeria is a very difficult place to live in honestly. MTN waking up one day to increase their weekly 15gb data from 2k to 6k without prior warning is textbook insanity.
“That’s 24k in a month, almost the minimum wage of the country on data, bruh, this is hell.”
While the telecom giant has yet to comment on the situation, observations suggest it may have begun implementing the 50% tariff hike approved by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
Recall that on January 20, the NCC in a statement by its Director of Public Affairs, Reuben Muoka, said implentation of the 50% tariff hike will begin in February, adding that the adjustment, though lower than the over 100 per cent requested by some network operators, was arrived at taking into account ongoing industry reforms that will positively influence sustainability.
“These adjustments will remain within the tariff bands stipulated in the 2013 NCC Cost Study, and requests will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis as is the Commission’s standard practice for tariff reviews. It will be implemented in strict adherence to the recently issued NCC Guidance on Tariff Simplification, 2024.
“Tariff rates have remained static since 2013, despite the increasing costs of operation faced by telecom operators. The approved adjustment is aimed at addressing the significant gap between operational costs and current tariffs while ensuring that the delivery of services to consumers is not compromised”, the NCC said.
Tech
TikTok sued over deaths of 4 children after viral challenge

Published
6 days agoon
February 8, 2025By
Ekwutos Blog
Parents of four British teenagers who believe that their children died after participating in viral trends (challenge) that circulated on TikTok in 2022 have sued the video-sharing platform.
According to the parents, the children, Isaac Kenevan, Archie Battersbee, Julian “Jools” Sweeney and Maia Walsh, died while attempting the trend called “blackout challenge”.
BBC reports that the US-based Social Media Victims Law Center filed the lawsuit on Thursday against TikTok and its parent company ByteDance on behalf of the children’s parents.
Meanwhile, searches for videos or hashtags related to the challenge on TikTok have been blocked since 2020.
TikTok had clarified that it prohibits dangerous content or challenges on the platform, and directs those who search for hashtags or videos to its Safety Centre.
The complaint was filed in the Superior Court of the State of Delaware on behalf of Isaac’s mum Lisa Kenevan, Archie’s mother Hollie Dance, Jools’ mother Ellen Roome and Maia’s dad Liam Walsh.
It claims the deaths were “the foreseeable result of ByteDance’s engineered addiction-by-design and programming decisions”, which were “aimed at pushing children into maximizing their engagement with TikTok by any means necessary”.

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