How do radio-controlled clocks set themselves to the atomic clock in Colorado?
Many gadget catalogs and high-tech stores sell “radio-controlled” clocks and wrist watches that are able to receive these radio signals. These clocks and watches truly are synchronizing themselves with the atomic clock in Colorado . This feature is made possible by a radio system set up and operated by NIST — the National Institute of Standards and Technology , located in Boulder, Colorado. NIST operates radio station WWVB, which is the station that transmits the time codes. WWVB is a very interesting radio station. It has high transmitter power (50,000 watts), a very efficient antenna and an extremely low frequency (60,000 Hz). For comparison, a typical AM radio station broadcasts at a frequency of 1,000,000 Hz. The combination of high power and low frequency gives the radio waves from WWVB a lot of bounce, and this single station can therefore cover all of the continental United States plus much of Canada and Central Ame
