Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Andrew Chi Atomic Clocks Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Forman, Paul. 1990. [Book review] "Atomic Clocks: The Quantum Physics of Atomic Frequency Standards, by Jacques Vanier and Claude Audoin." Science, 249, (4969), 685–686. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.249.4969.685.b.
Harold Lyons was a physicist whose primary interest was in atomic frequency standards and atomic clocks. The collection documents Lyons and his work with atomic clocks. The collection includes his research as manifested in published papers, presentations, reports, correspondence, laboratory notes, photographs and diagrams.
Scope and Contents:
The Harold Lyons Papers, 1935-1991, show his professional interests, especially his research from the 1950s, as manifested in published papers, presentations, reports, correspondence, laboratory results, and photographs. The bulk of the collection consists of papers and presentations of Lyons and others in the atomic physics field. Most of Lyons's work and the materials he collected address different aspects of microwave frequency.
Formats represented in the collection include published articles, typewritten and handwritten manuscripts, typewritten and handwritten personal correspondence, memorandums, photographs, diagrams, laboratory results, pamphlets, and newspaper clippings. The collection is arranged into five series.
Series 1, Biographical Information, 1955-1965; 1973, contains copies of Lyons's curriculum vitae (circa 1955, 1962, and 1971) and his entries in Who's Who in America and Who's Who in The West. This series also has two folders with materials relating to two honors he received, the Franklin Institute Certificate of Merit, in 1958, and the U.S. Department of Commerce's 25th Commemorative Award in 1973.
Series 2, Papers and Presentations, 1947-1962; 1973-1974, contains the journal articles and papers authored by Lyons and the conference and special presentations he gave during his career, most of which address research for aspects of the atomic clock. Included are papers he authored published in the Journal of Applied Physics, American Scholar, Scientific American, and Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences and presentations given at the National Bureau of Standards for the anniversary of the atomic clock.
Series 3, Correspondence, 1949-1991, contains general correspondence for the years 1949-1966, 1978, 1987, and 1991, as well as correspondence with the following individuals: Dirk Brouwer, Paul Forman, Polykarp Kusch, Koichi Shimoda, Wilbert F. Snyder, Charles H. Townes, and Jerrold R. Zacharias. The bulk of this series is incoming correspondence addressed to Lyons, although he did retain some copies of outgoing correspondence.
Series 4, Research, 1947-1958; 1970-1991, contains laboratory results for deuterated ammonia (via strip chart recordings) and general cesium atomic beam experiments through calibration of magnetic fields, calculation of c-fields in the magnetic chamber, and atomic beam measurements. It also contains brief information on other research interests, such as the International Scientific Radio Union, and scattered promotional materials for natural health and electrical products. In addition, this series contains a copy of the patent granted to Lyons and Benjamin F. Husten in 1955 for the atomic clock and photographs and diagrams relating to Lyons's work on the atomic clock. Included are black and white photographs of Lyons and his colleagues with views of the clock as well as diagrams and charts included in published and unpublished work and presentations. Most of the photographs and diagrams are undated and unlabeled.
Series 5, Collected Background Research Materials, 1935-1982, contains papers and presentation materials focused on atomic physics, including papers published in journals, memoranda, technical reports, conference programs, and conference proceedings. One folder in this series has materials relating to the promotion of the atomic clock through pamphlets, speeches, papers, and one oversize item of reproduced newspaper clippings. A folder relating to a university course of lectures, most likely authored by Polykarp Kusch of Columbia University, on molecular beams is also included in this series. In addition, this series contains copies of two patents, one granted to Friedrich H. Reder in 1960 for molecular resonance devices, and the other, an Australian patent, applied for in 1958, for an invention dealing with a frequency selective method and system.
Arrangement:
The collection is organized into five series.
Series 1, Biographical Information, 1955-1965; 1973
Series 2, Papers and Presentations, 1947-1962; 1973-1974
Subseries 2, Other Research Interests, 1947-1957; 1970-1991
Subseries 3, Photographs and Diagrams, 1957; undated
Series 5, Collected Background Research Materials, 1935-1982
Biographical / Historical:
Harold Lyons was born February 16, 1913 in Buffalo, New York, and attended the University of Buffalo, graduating summa cum laude with a B.S. in Physics in 1933. After obtaining a Ph.D. in Nuclear Physics from the University of Michigan in 1939, he worked at the Naval Research Laboratories for two years and then joined the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) in 1941. In 1944, he was appointed chief of the Microwave Standards Section of an Interservice Radio Propagation Laboratory (IRPL) established at the NBS during World War II. He continued in that position after the war when the IRPL, in 1946, was reconstituted as the Central Radio Propagation Laboratory (CRPL).
Lyons's work on microwave frequency standards led directly to his interest in atomic frequency standards and atomic clocks. On his initiative a substantial program of research and development was pursued in the Microwave Standards Section from 1948-1951. There under his direction the first operative atomic clock, based on the absorption of microwaves of ammonia, was constructed in 1948 and announced in early 1949.
Lyons remained with the CRPL after it was moved to Boulder, Colorado, in 1954, but left a year later to work in Hughes Aircraft Company's Culver City, California, research labs. Here he continued his atomic physics research, particularly applications for the atomic clock, including satellite technology, and expanding to development work in lasers. He continued his work on lasers at Electro-Optical Systems Quantum Physics Division from 1960-1962. In the late 1960s and during the 1970s, he was an independent physics consultant and conducted research through an association with the University of California, Los Angeles.
Harold Lyons died March 23, 1998 in Los Angeles, California.
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center
National Company (NATCO) Atomic Clocks Records, 1955-1968 (AC0547), contains related archival materials, principally on the development of the first commercial atomic clock, the Atomichron.
Materials in the National Museum of American History
The Division of Work and Industry, formerly the Division of Information, Technology and Communication, holds the first operative atomic clock, constructed under Lyons's direction at the National Bureau of Standards in 1948.
Provenance:
The collection was donated by Harold Lyons's daughter, Sherrie L. Lyons, in January, 2000.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning intellectual property rights. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, vol. 32, no. 8, July 1930; vol. 63, no. 7, May 1961; and vol. 64, no. 1, November 1961.
Collection Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Collection Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Collection Citation:
Arthur Raymond Brooks Collection, NASM.1989.0104, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
National Museum of American History. Division of Electricity and Modern Physics Search this
Extent:
3 oversize folders.
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Floor plans
Drawings
Posters
Date:
1977-1983
Descriptive Entry:
This accession consists of the records of Paul Forman, Curator of modern physics, which document planning for the following exhibitions: Atom Smashers; Einstein:
A Centenary Exhibition; FDR: The Intimate Presidency; and Atomic Clocks, an in-depth examination of the discoveries and developments that changed the international
time standard from the rotation of the Earth to the vibrations of atoms in a vacuum. Earlier records date from when Forman was in the Division of Electricity and Nuclear Energy.
Materials include floor plans, drawings, and posters.
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Accession 12-500, National Museum of American History. Division of Electricity and Modern Physics, Exhibition Records
The records document the development of the first commercial atomic clocks by the National Company, Inc., (NATCO) of Malden, Massachusetts, a company known for producing specialized electronic equipment. The records include blueprints, technical drawings and schematics, technical and research reports, instruction manuals, photographs, and marketing materials.
Scope and Contents:
The National Company (NATCO) Atomic Clocks Records, 1955-1968, documents the development of the first commercial atomic clocks. Materials were generated by the National Company, Inc. (NATCO) of Malden, Massachusetts which produced the clocks under contract for military branches of the U.S. government and also marketed them on a retail basis. The collection consists of blueprints, technical drawings and schematics, technical and research reports, instruction manuals, photographs, marketing materials, and a stock offering prospectus for NATCO. If one blueprint, drawing or parts list had two or more models listed, it is included under the first model cited.
Series 1, National Company, Inc., (NATCO), 1957-1959, consists of a stock offering prospectus, 1959, which describes the organization of NATCO, its executives and Board of Directors, financial condition, and products. Located in this series is a bound volume of photographs which accompanied NATCO's contract bids. This volume contains photographs of a state-of-the-art machine shop and electronics laboratory of the late 1950s and early 1960s. A blueprint for a radio receiver— the product on which NATCO had built its reputation—is here.
Series 2, Atomichrons, 1955-1968, contains blueprints, original technical drawings and schematics, instruction manuals for setup and operation, technical and research reports, photographs and marketing materials arranged by Atomichron model from the National Atomic Frequency System (NAFS) prototype through the NC3701 and NC3702. The NC1001, the first commercial atomic clock, is fully documented. Technical Memoranda and proposals (TM-) related to particular models have been included with them. Other Technical Memoranda and proposals are in Series 3, Components, 1955-1957, and Series 5, Technical Memoranda and Reports, 1956-1957.
Series 3, Components, 1955-1967, contains materials related to the development of NATCo's Cesium Beam Tube and other parts of the Atomichrons. It includes Technical Memoranda (TM-), blueprints and original drawings, original notes and computations, parts lists, and photographs. Also included in this series is material related to the Production Engineering Measure (PEM), 1962-1967. This was a piece of equipment designed and built by NATCO to measure the accuracy of each Cesium Beam Tube as it was produced.
Series 4, Collision Avoidance System, 1962-1967, consists of material related to James J. Bagnall's patented Collision Avoidance System, using the Cesium Beam Frequency Standard. It includes his research report, the patent assigned to NATCO, and proposals and reports from NATCO representatives to Air Transportation Association conferences and meetings for 1967.
Series 5, Technical Memoranda and Reports, 1956-1967, consists of bound and numbered (TM-) technical memoranda. These are research reports and proposals for future research or products. Other technical memoranda are in Series 2, Atomichrons and Series 3, Components, 1955-1967.
Series 6, Reprints from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 1953-1955, contains a bound volume of reprinted or photocopied papers which document research developments in Cesium Beam Frequency Standards at the time NATCO was establishing itself as a commercial producer.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into six series.
Series 1: National Company, Inc., (NATCO), 1957-1959
Series 2: Atomichrons, 1955-1968
Subseries 2.1, National Atomic Frequency System (NAF), 1956
Subseries 2.2, NC1001, 1955-circa 1959
Subseries 2.3, NC1001, Polaris, 1956-1958
Subseries 2.4, NC2001, Militarized, 1956-1961
Subseries 2.5, NC3001, Airborne, 1956-1961
Subseries 2.6, NC1200, 1959
Subseries 2.7, Missileborne Atomichron, 1959-1960
Subseries 2,8, NC1501, 1958-1964
Subseries 2.9, NC1601, Economy, 1958-1964
Subseries 2.10, Tactical Frequency Standard Drawings, 1959
Subseries 2.11, Tri-Service CBFS, circa 1965
Subseries 2.12, NC3501, circa 1965, 1967
Subseries 2.13, NC3601, Aerospace, circa 1965
Subseries 2.14, NC3701, Commercial, 1964-1968
Series 3: Components, 1955-1967
Series 4: Collision Avoidance System, 1962-1967
Series 5: Technical Memoranda and Reports, 1956-1967
Series 6: Reprints from MIT, 1953-1955
Biographical / Historical:
An atomic clock is a cesium-based frequency standard. It operates by exposing cesium atoms to microwaves at one end of their resonant frequencies and then counting their corresponding cycles as a measure of time. In 1955, Louis Essen of Britain's National Physical Laboratory and William Markowitz of the U.S. Naval Observatory collaborated to produce the first measurement of what is now called the atomic second. In 1967, the 13th general Conference of Weights and Measures formally redefined the atomic second as 9,192,631,770. The atomic second became the internationally accepted unit of time. Atomic clocks are the most accurate of all clocks.
The first clock in 1949 was based on the microwave resonances of the ammonia molecule. It was patented by Harold Lyons and Benjamin F. Husten. The first commercial atomic clocks were developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Research Laboratory of Electronics under J.R. Zacharias, a protégé of I.I. Rabi's, circa 1955-1956 and were manufactured by the National Company, Inc. (NATCO) of Malden, Massachussets. NATCO, founded in 1914, was a well-respected company known for producing specialized electronic equipment in short runs. Prototype clocks bore the working name National Atomic Frequency Standard (NAFS). When the first commercial product was unveiled on October 3, 1956, it bore the trade name "Atomichron" and the model number NC-1001. Between 1956 and 1960, fifty Atomichrons were made and sold to military agencies, government agencies, and universities. Nine other models followed with refinements in size, portability and accuracy. The most radical design departure began with the NC3001 when the beam tube was placed in the horizontal position. Prices ranged from $10,000 to $50,000.
Patents covering NATCO's frequency standards include: 2,960,663, 2,972,115, 2,991,389, 3,258,713, 3,305,290. In 1965, James J. Bagnall was assigned patent 3,167,772 for a Collision Avoidance System to NATCO. It never reached production.
Although supported by research contracts by all three military branches, especially the Army Signal Corps, NATCO failed to achieve a lasting profitability. It was liquidated, and its patents were acquired by Frequency Electronics in 1969.
Sources
1. PEM Drawing C43767, 1967, PEM Drawings (C38037-C43767), 1964-1967, Series 3, Components, 1955-1967, Atomic Clock Collection, Archives Center, Smithsonian Institution National Museum of American History.
2. Forman, Paul. "Atomichron: The Atomic Clock from Concept to Commercial Product," in Proceedings of the IEEE, vol. 73, p. 1181-1204, 1985.
Related Materials:
Materials at the Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Industry on Parade (NMAH.AC.0507)
Reel #247, Making atomic clocks. National COmpany, Incorporated, Mauldin, Massachusetts.
Materials at the National Museum of American History
Artifacts related to this collection are located in the Division of Work and Industry.
Materials at Other Organizations
Materials related to MIT staff and departments who were involved in NATCO's Atomic Clock projects also can be found in the Historical Collections at the MIT Museum (http://web.mit.edu/museum/) and in the Institute Archives and Special Collections (http://libraries.mit.edu/archives/) of the MIT Libraries in Cambridge, Mass.
Provenance:
Materials in this collection were donated to the Division of Electricity and Modern Physics by Louis C. Lerner in December 1984. The bulk of the blueprints were purchased from Robert Reeves in August, 1991.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
