Time Flies: The 5060A Clock

When Hewlett-Packard developed the first all solid-state cesium beam clock — which was capable of maintaining accuracy while being moved and thus could allow for synchronized devices to be distributed throughout the globe — the company decided to demonstrate the breakthrough in dramatic fashion. On June 5, 1964, Hewlett-Packard synchronized two 5060As in California, then sent them on a 12-day global tour that included multiple stops at time standardization laboratories throughout both Switzerland and the United States. One stop was at the International Conference on Chronometry in Neuchatel, Switzerland, where Hewlett-Packard presented a paper on the new technology. The clocks traveled on commercial airlines in passenger seats without special consideration but nevertheless remained accurate to within +/- one second every 3,000 years. It was the beginning of a new world standard.