In this case, the courts were faced with deciding whether the five-year clock begins to tick when the fraud is complete or when the fraud is discovered.

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"The atomic clock is actually putting out an electronic signal which is essentially analogous to the ticking of a pendulum clock... which might tick once every second or once every couple of seconds, " says Dr McCarthy.

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As the investments in both Blue Origin and the 10, 000-year clock show, it is the challenge of reaching for distant horizons that really makes Amazon's boss tick.

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