Space station device to aid quantum physics
China plans to install a cutting-edge scientific instrument on its future space station, a move likely to revolutionize research into quantum mechanics, one of the most sophisticated and complex areas of physics.
The device, called a high-accuracy time-frequency cabinet, is being developed by Chinese scientists and will be used in experiments "related to the fundamentals of physics", according to Gao Lianshan, a senior researcher of atomic clocks at the Beijing Institute of Radio Metrology and Measurement, a major participant in the program.
It will be carried by the country's first manned space station, which is expected to be assembled starting in 2019 and enter service around 2022. The 60-metric-ton station will have three parts - a core module attached to two space labs - and will operate for at least 10 years, according to space authorities.
