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Physical Measurement Laboratory

News and Updates

Displaying 326 - 350 of 1546
Building exterior

Spotlight: Radiometric Dating

Dating can be complicated. Our team uses this instrument — a live-timed anticoincidence counter — to figure the decay rate of an isotope, which we can then use
Opposite sides of a quartz crystal resonator

Universe in the Balance

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have found a way to link measurements made by a device integral to microchip
Black and white micrograph of tiny cubes clustered together.

Spotlight: Polymer Microparticle Molds

Forget ice cube trays … we have microscopic molds for any shape we want. Scientists at NIST can now pour a polymer liquid into a template to make exact shapes —
photon interference diagram

A New Playbook for Interference

Particles can sometimes act like waves, and photons (particles of light) are no exception. Just as waves create an interference pattern, like ripples on a pond
empty petri dish

Tracking Lab-Grown Tissue With Light

Someday, doctors would like to grow limbs and other body tissue for soldiers who have lost arms in battle, children who need a new heart or liver, and many
Gray cylinder two inches in diameter, held in gloved fingers

Spotlight: Astro-Etalon

A small role can make an astronomical impact, as is the case for a tiny NIST-built piece of a new planet-hunting project from NASA and the National Science
ER-2 taking off

Fly Me (Partway) to the Moon

Last week, scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the United
A woman and a man stand in front of scientific equipment, including a large green tank.

Spotlight: Gillian Nave and Jacob Ward

STEM is STELLAR! In November 2019, NIST’s Gillian Nave and Jacob Ward brought celebrations of Mercury’s transit (the point where Mercury passes between the
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