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Fundamental Electrical Measurements Group

The Fundamental Electrical Measurements group provides the foundation of the nation's infrastructure through measurement services in the general areas of resistance and impedance and related quantities. As part of its mission, the group maintains an active research program in precision measurements based on fundamental constants and in the development of quantum electrical standards.

The FEM group uses physical laws, quantum invariants, and ultra-precision measurement techniques to create and refine a core set of experiments used as the US national standards for the ohm and farad. Based on the defining constants of the new SI, FEM researchers provide the fundamental traceability of the SI units through the exact values of quantum electrical constants. The group strives to improve the accessibility, reliability, precision, accuracy, and range of values that can be achieved and disseminated from each standard by advancing the state of the art in optical, mechanical, and, of course, electrical systems used in the realization of these units.

News and Updates

Mass Revolution: Kibble Balances for All

NIST is working on a big project in a small package. When you want to weigh something – anything – in the United States, whether it’s a truck full of cargo or a

Projects and Programs

Farad and Impedance Metrology

Ongoing
This project aims to provide the world's best basis for accurate impedance measurements by tying the U.S. legal system of electrical units to the International

Metrology of the Ohm

Ongoing
Resistance standards traceable to NIST provide references for measurements of current at levels from 3000 A to below 20 fA and are used to support a wide

Quantum Conductance

Ongoing
Graphene, the two-dimensional honeycomb carbon lattice isolated in 2004, has enabled significant advancement in a variety of subfields in physics due to its

Publications

Measuring the frequency of a pendulum

Author(s)
Jon R. Pratt, Stephan Schlamminger, Charles Condos, Jack Manley, Dalziel Wilson
We previously reported the use of a chip-scale torsion pendulum as a clock gravimeter, exploiting the parametric coupling of its frequency to the local

Awards

Jon Pratt Elected ASPE Fellow

Election to the ASPE College of Fellows is a highly prestigious honor that is intended to recognize and honor those exceptional members of

Press Coverage

Contacts

Group Leader