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Physical Measurement Laboratory

News and Updates

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EBIT’s Improved X-ray Vision Promises Astronomical Insights

April 25, 2019

Look at an astronomical marvel like the Cat’s Eye Nebula at right, with an average gas temperature about twice as hot as the surface of the Sun. It seems

Building a Better Lithium Ion Source to Build a Better FIB

April 22, 2019

Eight years ago, NIST researchers developed a groundbreaking microscope that uses a narrow beam of low-energy lithium ions, rather than a beam of light or

Researchers Explore Energy-saving Catalysts that Operate at Room Temperature

April 15, 2019

NIST researchers have explored in unprecedented detail a new breed of catalysts that allow some chemical reactions, which normally require high heat, to proceed

Three-dimensional rope the color of Candy Corn snaking across the field of view, with an inset close-up of a small piece showing a twisted ladder shape

JILA’s 5-Minute Sample Processing Enhances DNA Imaging and Analysis

April 8, 2019

JILA scientists have developed a fast, simple sample preparation method that enhances imaging of DNA to better analyze its physical properties and interactions

NIST Researchers Boost Intensity of Nanowire LEDs

March 21, 2019

Nanowire gurus at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have made ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that, thanks to a special type of

a CT scanner with technician and patient

New X-ray Measurement Approach Could Improve CT Scanners

March 1, 2019

A new measurement approach proposed by scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) could lead to a better way to calibrate computed

Entangling Photons of Different Colors

February 25, 2019

Some of the most advanced communication systems now under development rely on the properties of quantum science to store and transport information. However

FLOC Takes Flight: First Portable Prototype of Photonic Pressure Sensor

February 25, 2019

In collaboration with industry, researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have made the first portable prototype of the Fixed

Avoiding the Crack of Doom

February 25, 2019

Just as a journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step, the deformations and fractures that cause catastrophic failure in materials begin with a few

Diffuse image of molecules flying through space, with each molecule made of one reddish sphere connected to a smaller blue sphere

JILA Researchers Make Coldest Quantum Gas of Molecules

February 21, 2019

JILA researchers have made a long-lived, record-cold gas of molecules that follow the wave patterns of quantum mechanics instead of the strictly particle nature

NIST Physicists ‘Flash-freeze’ Crystal of 150 Ions

February 20, 2019

Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have “flash-frozen” a flat crystal of 150 beryllium ions (electrically charged atoms)

Man in goggles standing next to and looking into a large box with open lid showing what appears to be electrical equipment and wiring inside

NIST ‘Astrocomb’ Opens New Horizons for Planet-Hunting Telescope

February 19, 2019

The hunt for Earth-like planets, and perhaps extraterrestrial life, just got more precise, thanks to record-setting starlight measurements made possible by a

After 90 Years, a Better Way to Measure the Composition of Paper

February 14, 2019

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), in collaboration with the U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO), have developed a

Probing surface structure: Three pioneering PML instruments on display

February 12, 2019

Three of the pioneering instruments that unveiled the magnetic and electronic structure of surfaces in exquisite detail are now on display in the atrium of NIST

Rulers of light shining on individual buckyballs

JILA Researchers Uncover Quantum Structure of Buckyballs

January 28, 2019

JILA researchers have measured hundreds of individual quantum energy levels in the buckyball, a spherical cage of 60 carbon atoms.

NIST Atomic Clocks Now Keep Time Well Enough to Improve Models of Earth

November 28, 2018

Experimental atomic clocks at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have achieved three new performance records, now ticking precisely

NIST Study Resolves Fine Details of How Microscopic Machines Can Fail in the Blink of an Eye

November 27, 2018

How long can tiny gears and other microscopic moving parts last before they wear out? What are the warning signs that these components are about to fail, which

New Device Widens Light Beams by 400 Times, Broadening Possibilities in Science and Technology

November 27, 2018

By using light waves instead of electric current to transmit data, photonic chips—circuits for light—have advanced fundamental research in many areas from

Photonic Radiation Sensors Survive Huge Doses Undamaged

November 27, 2018

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have published landmark test results that suggest a promising class of sensors can be

White Cat Hair on Black Pants: International Study Measures Stability of Precision Masses to Benefit Trade

November 26, 2018

When are two nominally identical kilogram masses no longer identical? When each goes to a different place and adsorbs varying amounts of moisture and

JILA Researchers See Signs of Interactive Form of Quantum Matter

October 31, 2018

JILA researchers have, for the first time, isolated groups of a few atoms and precisely measured their multi-particle interactions within an atomic clock. The

Nanofabulous: An intern who mentored interns

October 30, 2018

When NanoFab intern Patricio Flores donned a bunny suit for the first time last January, he had never been inside a cleanroom or worked with the precision tools

A New Way to Measure Nearly Nothing

October 19, 2018

Many semiconductor fabricators and research labs are under increasing pressure from, of all things, vacuum. These facilities need to remove greater amounts of

NIST Launches Consortium to Support Development of Quantum Industry

September 28, 2018

GAITHERSBURG, Md.—The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has signed a cooperative research and development

NIST’s Electro-Optic Laser Pulses 100 Times Faster Than Usual Ultrafast Light

September 27, 2018

Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have used common electronics to build a laser that pulses 100 times more often than

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