How do we determine the time? Believe it or not, there is an official clock. It’s located in Boulder, Colorado at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and we go there to visit.
LEARN MORE: <a href="https://www.nist.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">NIST</a> doesn’t give public tours. But if you want to watch the seconds go by as precisely as humanly possible, dial (303) 499-7111. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

<description>&lt;p&gt;How do we determine the time? Believe it or not, there is an official clock. It’s located in Boulder, Colorado at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and we go there to visit.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;LEARN MORE:&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;a href="https://www.nist.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"&gt;NIST&lt;/a&gt; doesn’t give public tours. But if you want to watch the seconds go by as precisely as humanly possible, dial (303) 499-7111.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt; &lt;p&gt;Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See &lt;a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com"&gt;pcm.adswizz.com&lt;/a&gt; for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.&lt;/p&gt;</description>

How do we determine the time? Believe it or not, there is an official clock. It’s located in Boulder, Colorado at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and we go there to visit.

LEARN MORE: The institute doesn’t give public tours. But if you want to watch the seconds go by as precisely as humanly possible, dial (303) 499-7111.

The Atlas Obscura Podcast

The Atomic Clock (Classic)

The Atomic Clock (Classic)

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