As per a Discovery news report, scientists claim that the strontium (atomic) clock has become so accurate and stable that for the next 15 billion years, not even a single second will be gained or lost by the clock.

According to the report, atomic clocks usually operate by measuring the vibrational frequency of atoms as these atoms move between different energy levels. These atoms could be strontium or cesium. As expected, every atom oscillates at very high frequencies billions or trillions of times per second.

According to a study by scientists on the clock, “This enhanced stability will not only bring the accuracy of the time to a new level. It will also allow the atomic clock one day replace the current time measurement reference, the cesium standard”.

The strontium clock is nearly three times more accurate compared to the earlier clock, which held the record for accuracy. This strontium clock can now tell about tiny shifts in time, which were anticipated by Einstein’s theory of relativity. According to his theory, time moves faster at different elevations on Earth. That accuracy of the strontium clock can help scientists create ultra-detailed maps of the shape of the Earth.

Study co-author Jun Ye, a physicist at JILA, a joint institute of the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the University of Colorado, Boulder, said in a statement that their performance indicates that the gravitational shift could be measured when the clock is raised just 2 centimeters (0.79 inches) on the Earth’s surface.

If in future the clock can become better, it will help scientists know more regarding measurements of the Earth's shape. At present, instruments such as tidal gauges and gravimeters are doing this work.