The first atomic clock to be built cost a staggering $20,000 making it somewhat out of reach for the average household. This was back in the 1950’s when the technology was first developed but over the last fifty years huge advancements have been made.

Many atomic clocks that can be bought now do not actually contain the technology involving caesium molecules and yet are still marketed as atomic clocks. In other cases, these models are called radio controlled clocks.

The average household would still find the price of an original, working atomic clock out of their budget range. The low cost versions are powered by the home’s electricity supply and actually work on radio waves which connect them to a “mother” clock. This clock not only calculates the time by the use of the atomic process traditionally associated with atomic clocks, but then transmits the precise time to all of the radio controlled clocks which are linked to it.

Now that the price of these has fallen so much, they are becoming more commonplace in the home. Aside from their accuracy, which is much greater than traditional clocks, there are other benefits associated with the household atomic clocks. When you connect your clock to the “mother” clock you can set your time zone. Allowances will then be made automatically for the delay in the signal reaching your home and the clock will even update automatically for daylight savings time. If you experience a power cut you can rest assured that once the power supply is reconnected, the clock will reset itself to the correct time instantly without the need for you to do anything to it.

An atomic clock for the home is an ideal gift for a technophobe. This is because once it has been set to the correct radio frequency it can be left without fear as you will never have to manually update the time or change the battery again!

More information about Atomic Clocks can be found at Atomic Clocks.