Atomic Time (TAI)
A high-precision time standard based on the oscillation of atoms.
Atomic time, officially known as International Atomic Time (TAI), is a high-precision time standard based on the resonance frequency of atoms. It provides a continuous, stable time scale that is not affected by irregularities in Earth's rotation.
TAI is determined by a worldwide network of atomic clocks that measure time based on the electromagnetic radiation emitted by cesium-133 atoms. The second in TAI is defined as the duration of 9,192,631,770 cycles of this radiation.
Unlike UTC, TAI does not include leap seconds and therefore runs continuously without adjustments. As of 2023, TAI is ahead of UTC by 37 seconds due to the leap seconds added to UTC since 1972.
Atomic time is crucial for applications requiring extremely precise timekeeping, such as GPS, scientific research, and telecommunications.