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Physical Measurement Laboratory

News and Updates

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Best Practices for Uniform Unit Pricing: An Update to NIST SP 1181 and NIST Handbook 130 Regulations

December 13, 2024

To help shoppers everywhere get the best value for their money, the NIST Office of Weights and Measures (OWM) convened a unit price working group comprised of...

3 NIST Researchers Receive Presidential Rank Awards

December 5, 2024

All three were awarded the “Distinguished Rank,” the highest category of Presidential Rank Awards.

Just for KICS!

December 2, 2024

Sensors capable of detecting individual photons of visible light have become essential for applications ranging from imaging faint galaxies to quantum computing...

Incoming radiation deposits energy into the TKID circuit.

NIST Study Probes the Damaging Effects of Radiation on Qubits

November 19, 2024

Qubits, the fundamental unit of quantum information, form the building blocks of quantum computers. Because qubits are not limited to the two states, “0” and “1...

Side-by-side photos show a buoy with attached scientific devices on the deck of a ship and then floating in the ocean.

Spotlight: NIST Dives In to Help Measure Ocean Color

November 8, 2024

Thanks to a collaboration between NASA and NIST, a new ocean color sensor buoy has been deployed off the western coast of Australia.

A Better Balance for Tiny Liquid Masses

November 5, 2024

Scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) are developing a mass balance to measure miniscule amounts of liquid with much higher...

NIST Scientists Use DNA Origami on a Chip to Detect Biomolecules

October 17, 2024

Using strands of DNA to create miniature hinges that pop open or shut when binding to specific molecules, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and...

New NIST OWM Contacts System is Open for Business

October 2, 2024

The Office of Weights and Measures (OWM) Contacts System customer portal is open for business. NIST OWM officially launched the new online portal for the OWM...

Metric Week 2024: Measure Up with Metric Education

October 2, 2024

National Metric Week ( October 6 to 12, 2024) is an opportunity to draw attention to the educational and economic benefits of metric system measurements...

Shelf Labels for Instant Noodles - Price Verification

2024 NCWM National Price Verification Survey

October 1, 2024

The National Council on Weights and Measures (NCWM) recently completed the 2024 National Price Verification Survey together with support from NIST OWM and...

Latest Updates on EPOs for Electrical Energy and Hydrogen Vehicle Fueling

October 1, 2024

OWM is pleased to announce the latest inspection and test procedures for two alternative vehicle fueling applications: Electrical Energy (EVSE for Vehicle...

DYK: NIST OWM Fun Facts

October 1, 2024

DYK: The Office of Weights and Measures (OWM) is the oldest office at NIST? NIST OWM’s principal mandate to “ fix the standard of weights and measures” is...

Info Hours Presented by NIST OWM: 2024 Series Successfully Completed!

October 1, 2024

This year, NIST OWM launched a new series of Information Hours, aka “Info Hours,” as an informal forum for our customers and stakeholders to engage in...

Dinelka Jagada tallies team scores during NIST Metric Est Game.

2024 NIST Internship Reflections

October 1, 2024

During the summer of 2024, the NIST Physical Measurement Laboratory’s ( PML) Office of Weights and Measures ( OWM) hosted two undergraduate students through the...

David Sefcik reviews an inspection report with a Massachusetts Weights and Measures Official James Shattuck

NIST OWM Teams Up with Massachusetts for Price Verification Training

September 30, 2024

NIST OWM was delighted to provide a 2-day price verification training event based on the NIST Handbook 130 Examination Procedure for Price Verification for the...

Mike Stocker working with EVSE equipment

NIST OWM-ANL Co-Host Inaugural EVSE Metrology Training Event

September 30, 2024

Several of the NIST OWM staff teamed up with Ted Bohn of Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) to deliver a one-day hybrid workshop and training event on electric...

Table in darkened lab holds wiring and other laser electronics; a circular light source is situated above.

Major Leap for Nuclear Clock Paves Way for Ultraprecise Timekeeping

September 4, 2024

These clocks could lead to improved timekeeping and navigation, faster internet speeds, and advances in fundamental physics research.

Spotlight: Game-Changing Microscopy Technique for Identifying Cancerous Cells

September 3, 2024

Breast-conserving surgery, or lumpectomy, is a treatment for early-stage breast cancer. It’s important for surgeons to remove enough tissue around the tumor to...

Tiny New Lasers Fill a Long-Standing Gap in the Rainbow of Visible-Light Colors, Opening New Applications

August 28, 2024

Researchers have created orange, yellow and green lasers tiny enough to fit on a chip.

Cassie Stoffer smiles while wearing safety glasses and standing next to a large metal tank with many pipes and wires attached to it.

Spotlight: Cassie Stoffer Helps Run Calibration and Measurement Services Related to Magnetic Resonance

August 27, 2024

If you ask NIST physicist Cassie Stoffer what she finds most exciting about science, it’s seeing what she learned in a textbook have real-world applications...

What Time Is It on the Moon?

August 12, 2024

New lunar time proposal is a first step for Moon GPS.

A high-tech laboratory with large black equipment featuring two circular insets showing detailed machinery setups. A computer workstation is in the foreground.

From Pandemics to Pedicures: NIST Rebuilds World-Class UV Calibration System

July 22, 2024

UV detectors need to be carefully calibrated to ensure that the UV light used is both safe and effective.

Close-up of a scientific instrument with wires and a circular metallic component, illuminated by blue light, featuring a small red dot at the center.

World’s Most Accurate and Precise Atomic Clock Pushes New Frontiers in Physics

July 1, 2024

The clock is the latest demonstration that a much more precise definition of the official second is possible and that new applications of clocks are feasible.

The Reason the U.S. Doesn't Use the Metric System

June 27, 2024

It is now common knowledge that the U.S. is one of a handful of countries that still use non-SI measurements in our daily lives and in many commercial...

weight measure on the electronic balance

Considerations for Class II Scale Applications

June 26, 2024

For several years, there has been an increase in the use of Class II scales in commercial applications. Previously relegated to pharmacies, jewelry stores, and...

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