Chronos Quantum v3.1
A Distributed, High-Precision Virtualized Atomic Clock Consensus Engine.
Overview
Chronos Quantum is an advanced temporal synchronization framework designed to solve the "Clock Drift" problem inherent in standard hardware oscillators. By aggregating time data from multiple Tier-1 global authorities and applying high-frequency corrections via WebWorkers and WebSockets, Chronos creates a virtualized temporal source of truth.
Core Features
- Multi-Source Median Filtering: Rejects network jitter by selecting the median drift from 7 global authorities.
- WebWorker Background Ticking: Decouples the clock from the UI thread to prevent lag during DOM operations.
- WebSocket PTP Handshake: Measures and subtracts exact network latency for sub-millisecond accuracy.
- P2P Gossip Mesh: Synchronizes multiple open tabs instantly using the
BroadcastChannel API.
- SQLite Persistence: Maintains a server-side audit trail of every calibration event.
- Hot-Reload Engine: Real-time UI and logic updates via
fs.watch and nodemon.
How It Works (Technical Deep-Dive)
The Mathematics of Consensus
Traditional NTP (Network Time Protocol) often relies on a single source. Chronos queries 7 Tier-1 observers (Cloudflare, Akamai, Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft). Instead of averaging, we use the Median Filter:
// Outlier Rejection Logic
const valid_drifts = [12.1, 12.5, 99.0, 12.2, 11.9, -40.2, 12.3];
valid_drifts.sort();
const consensus = valid_drifts[3]; // Result: 12.2ms
By selecting the median, we ensure that as long as 4 out of 7 network paths are healthy, the time is accurate. Outliers (like the 99.0ms and -40.2ms examples) are automatically discarded.
Latency Symmetrization
Every poll measures the Round-Trip-Time (RTT). We assume symmetric network latency: (Send_Time + Receive_Time) / 2. This allows us to calculate the exact moment the server generated the timestamp, eliminating the transit-delay error.
Phase 4: WebSocket PTP Handshake
Standard HTTP is asynchronous and bursty. Chronos Quantum implements a Precision Time Protocol (PTP) handshake over a stateful WebSocket:
- Sync: Client sends a timestamped packet (T0).
- Follow-Up: Server records arrival (T1) and sends its own time (T2).
- Delay Request: Client records receipt (T3).
- Calculated Offset:
Offset = ((T1 - T0) + (T2 - T3)) / 2.
Usage & Options
UI Controls
- Recalibrate: Triggers a forced server-side poll of all 7 sources and a fresh PTP handshake.
- Timezone Search: A lazy-loaded datalist allowing you to switch the Master Clock display to any global region.
- Theme Toggle: Switches between Light and Dark modes. Preference is persisted in
localStorage.
- Audit Ledger: A scrollable table showing the last 50 calibration events stored in the SQLite database.
Manual Commands
- Log State: Manually records a snapshot of the current drift into the persistence ledger.
- Wipe Audit: Clears all server-side historical logs (requires confirmation).
The Quantum Roadmap
Phase 1: Median Consensus (Complete)
Implemented 7-source polling and outlier rejection algorithms.
Phase 2: Threaded Ticking (Complete)
Moved clock logic to a dedicated WebWorker for 60Hz UI smoothness.
Phase 3: Tab Gossip (Complete)
Enabled P2P tab synchronization via BroadcastChannel.
Phase 4: WebSocket PTP (Complete)
Full-duplex latency handshakes for sub-millisecond precision.
Phase 5: ML Drift Modeling (Active)
Applying Linear Regression to learn hardware oscillator drift patterns for offline accuracy.
Phase 6: BFT LAN Clustering (Scheduled)
Byzantine Fault Tolerant clustering for local network authority mesh.
Phase 7: True Stratum-0 Support (Scheduled)
Hardware integration for USB GPS (NMEA) and Rubidium oscillators.
Phase 8: Temporal Verification (Scheduled)
Cryptographically signed proof-of-time API for external validation.