News Details

PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 28, 2000--

Exhibit Visitors Can Set Their Watches by Agilent-Developed Clock,

Which Varies by Only a Second Every 162,000 Years

Precision-fanatics who want their watches to be as accurate as possible for the start of the New Year should visit the "On Time" exhibition at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.

The exhibition features a clock so accurate it only loses or gains one second every 162,000 years. The clock has just been donated to the museum by its developer, Agilent Technologies (NYSE: A), a leading provider of innovative technologies for communications and life sciences.

Called the Agilent 5071A Primary Frequency Standard, the clock is based on cesium-beam technology. As the most precise method of commercial timekeeping, Agilent's "atomic clocks" are used as master clocks for telecommunications, satellite communications and navigation systems throughout the world. Of the roughly 220 atomic clocks used by international time laboratories to determine world time, 168 are cesium clocks made by Agilent.

"We're pleased to have the Agilent cesium standard showcased in this important exhibition," said Cynthia Johnson, Agilent's vice president of public affairs. "The clock is a great example of Agilent's innovative technology, and having it housed at the Smithsonian is an honor for us."

Agilent donated the clock to the Smithsonian as a replacement for an earlier model, provided by the company in 1978 -- then under the Hewlett-Packard Company name. (Agilent was formed from HP, becoming a fully independent company in June 2000.) The new clock is featured in the "On Time" exhibition, which is designed to show how Americans have viewed and coped with time throughout history. The Agilent 5071A is located toward the end of the 4,300-square-foot permanent exhibition, in the present-day section. "The Agilent clock lets us demonstrate how the world has been able to measure time more and more accurately, dividing it into smaller and smaller units," explained Carlene Stephens, curator in the museum's History of Technology Division.

The clock contains a cesium beam tube and digital electronics. It is significantly more accurate than the previous clock on exhibit at the museum, which was analog, said Jack Kusters, Agilent Technologies' business manager for Precise Time and Frequency. "The Agilent 5071A is the most modern commercially available cesium standard in existence," he added. "It is always optimizing its performance, providing the most accurate and reliable timekeeping." Kusters, who was instrumental in donating the clock to the museum, joined HP in 1965 as an engineer to work on the cesium technology for the clock.

Common worldwide applications for the Agilent 5071A include satellite communications; navigation and tracking systems; and telecommunication systems. In satellite communications, stable frequency generation is needed to transmit and receive signals properly between ground terminals and communication satellites. Navigation and tracking systems require a cesium standard to be accurate in a changing environment. Telecommunication systems must be synchronized in time and have the same data rates to minimize data loss.

History of Timekeeping

Until 1960, the definition of a second was based on solar time -- the spin rate of the Earth during a solar day. However, the Earth is actually slowing down -- at a very slow rate -- so a new method of calculating time was needed for precision applications. In 1967, three years after Agilent (then under the HP name) introduced its first cesium standard, the definition of a second was changed. It is now defined by how long it takes the cesium 133 atom to vibrate 9,192,631,770 times when subjected to electromagnetic waves. Super-precise atomic clocks -- like the Agilent 5071A Primary Frequency Standard -- count these unthinkably tiny fragments of a second.

About Agilent Technologies

Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) is a diversified technology company with approximately 47,000 employees serving customers in more than 120 countries. Agilent is a global leader in designing and manufacturing test, measurement and monitoring instruments, systems and solutions, and semiconductor and optical components. In fiscal year 2000, Agilent had net revenue of $10.8 billion. The company serves markets that include communications, electronics, life sciences and healthcare.

Information about Agilent Technologies can be found on the Web at www.agilent.com.

For more information about the National Museum of American History and the "On Time" exhibition, visit www.americanhistory.si.edu.

--30--kwp/sf*