TIL: masers and relativity

[timelets]

The hydrogen maser (which oscillates at a frequency of 1420 MHz) was used in 1976 to verify the predictions of general relativity with an accuracy of one part in 10 000 by comparing the frequency of a hydrogen maser clock at rest on Earth with that of another similar clock travelling in a missile.

--- Mario Bertolotti. The history of the laser, 2005.

The cornerstones of modern technology — semiconductors and lasers — are based on the principles of quantum mechanics postulated in the first half of the 20th century. Nevertheless, the general public lives in a Newtonian world. In short, we have at least a 100-year gap between the sci-tech and lay worlds. Was it the same with Newton's discoveries? How long did it take the general public to adopt his mechanical "cause-and-effect" mindset? What changed it? Is quantum computing going to be the trigger for the moderns?