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Physical Measurement Laboratory

News and Updates

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NIST’s Kibble balance: A Mass revolution

June 2, 2025

NIST engineer Leon Chao never dreamed his childhood fascination with LEGOs would fit together with his professional life. But a working LEGO model he and his...

BIPM 150th Anniversary Standout Poster

May 23, 2025

World Metrology Day (20 May 2025) marked the sesquicentennial, or 150th anniversary, of the Meter Convention. NIST and the Office of Weights and Measures (OWM)...

NIST Moonlight Data Will Help Satellites Get a More Accurate Look at Earth

May 20, 2025

Reliable measurements of the light from our planet can help industries from agriculture to meteorology to mining.

Deception, Trickery, and Metrology

April 30, 2025

While exploring a box of early 20th century index cards in the NIST archives, I stumbled upon two that starkly illustrated one of NIST's missions – legal...

NIST Team Uses Neutron Beams to Authenticate Historic Coins and Spot Fakes

April 29, 2025

Imaging antique coins with beams of low-energy neutrons, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and their colleagues have...

New Atomic Fountain Clock Joins Elite Group That Keeps the World on Time

April 28, 2025

NIST scientists have published results establishing a new atomic clock, NIST-F4, as one of the world’s most accurate timekeepers.

NIST Study Aims to Improve Utility of the Scanning Electron Microscope

April 25, 2025

Using an electron beam to image the tiniest of defects and patterns on microchips, the scanning electron microscope (SEM) has long been a mainstay of the...

NIST’s Curved Neutron Beams Could Deliver Benefits Straight to Industry

April 17, 2025

In a physics first, a team including scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has created a way to make beams of neutrons...

OWM Welcomes Undergraduate Researchers

March 27, 2025

The Office of Weights and Measures (OWM) welcomes Yoon Thwel, a spring Professional Research Experience Program (PREP) intern and Matthew Kenzinger, a visiting...

A first-ever comparison between National Metrology Institutes in the kW-power regime

March 5, 2025

NIST has continuously positioned itself at the forefront of high-power laser calibrations for over three decades [1]. To better meet needs of the manufacturing...

Sources and Detectors group ensures U. S. Military gas mask performance

February 26, 2025

“To survive and win…we must leverage ingenuity and technology to develop comprehensive solutions” -U. S. Army CBRN capability development update, 2024 CBRN...

Calibration leaders and researchers in the NIST Sources and Detectors Group support U.S. Military Aviation with laser-targeting system calibrations

February 21, 2025

“Air Power alone does not guarantee America’s security, but I believe it best exploits the nation’s greatest asset – our technical skill” -Gen. Hoyt Vandenberg...

A Physicist and Steampunk Enthusiast Explores Thermodynamics in the Quantum World

February 13, 2025

“Energy is eternal delight.” --William Blake Snuggling with her parents and brother while watching one of her favorite TV programs, Nicole Yunger Halpern was...

Anyone for Anyons?

February 12, 2025

Researchers have demonstrated that a strange type of quantum particle called the anyon, believed to exist in only two dimensions, can also be created in one...

View through a circular opening into a dark interior. A red dot floats in the darkness.

New Atom-Based Thermometer Measures Temperature More Accurately

January 23, 2025

This atomic thermometer provides accurate measurements “out of the box” because it relies on the basic principles of quantum physics.

Alejandra Collopy wears safety glasses as she works the lab. She is surrounded by various pieces of equipment and many hanging wires.

Spotlight: Alejandra Collopy and Atomic Clocks

January 13, 2025

NIST researcher Alejandra Collopy is working to add another piece of timely feedback to help our ensemble of clocks perform at their best 24/7.

Three qubits appear in an artist’s conception as X-shaped icons that fit together.

Novel ‘Quantum Refrigerator’ Is Great at Erasing Quantum Computer’s Chalkboard

January 9, 2025

Quantum computers need a "clean" workspace, and a team including scientists at NIST has found a way to make one.

Legal Metrology: Maintaining Our Trust in Measurements

January 8, 2025

Without realizing it, metrology and its associated standards and services play a big role in our daily lives. We buy groceries that are weighed or measured...

Profile: Quantum Physicist Alexey Gorshkov Tackles the Big Problems

January 7, 2025

It’s hard enough to track the interactions of even a handful of quantum particles, but physicist Alexey Gorshkov has taken on an even more daunting task. He...

NVLAP NIST Handbook 150-2 New Release

January 7, 2025

In October 2024, the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP) released a revised version of NIST Handbook 150-2 , which represents the...

A New ASTM E617 Standard and What It Means for NIST Handbook 105-1

January 7, 2025

One of OWM's main responsibilities is to harmonize international and national documentary standards with those used by the U.S. weights and measures community...

Map of RMAP regions without state listing

Coming in June 2025: Combined RMAP Training Event in Portland, Oregon

January 7, 2025

Every five years, NIST OWM gears up to host a Combined Regional Measurement Assurance Program (C-RMAP) training event with a state host with all six RMAP...

NIST OWM and KEBS: Building Metrology Capacity for the RMOs

January 7, 2025

NIST Office of Weights and Measures (OWM) and the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) are currently conducting an interlaboratory mass comparison as part of a...

OWM Completes Pilot Test of a “Blended” Course on Retail Motor-Fuel Dispensers

January 7, 2025

In October 2024, NIST OWM completed a pilot test of a “blended” course on Retail Motor-Fuel Dispensers (RMFDs) thanks in large part, to Paul Floyd, Director of...

NIST Offers New Calibration Service for Wavemeters

December 23, 2024

For more than three decades, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has calibrated the wavelengths of lasers used in industry, academia, and...

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