Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Physical Measurement Laboratory

News and Updates

Keyword

Topic Area

Polonium's Most Stable Isotope Gets Revised Half-Life Measurement

September 9, 2014

Scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have determined* that polonium-209, the longest-lived isotope of this radioactive heavy

NIST Helps Develop New Standard for Microsensor Technology

September 9, 2014

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has contributed to the development of a new standard for defining the performance of micromechanical

Scientists Shed Light on Organic Photovoltaic Characteristics

September 2, 2014

Photovoltaic devices, also known as solar cells, produce electrical power when exposed to light, and that technology has enabled a fast-growing industry. The

Optical Microscope Technique Confirmed as Valid Nano-Measurement Tool

August 26, 2014

Recent experiments have confirmed* that a technique developed several years ago at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) can enable optical

EUV Calibrations for Satellite Sensors

August 25, 2014

Thanks to precision calibration measurements recently performed at NIST, satellites may soon be looking at sunlight with new and improved vision. On July 22

JILA Team Finds First Direct Evidence of 'Spin Symmetry' In Atoms

August 21, 2014

Just as diamonds with perfect symmetry may be unusually brilliant jewels, the quantum world has a symmetrical splendor of high scientific value. Confirming this

Guidelines for Enhancing Solar Cells Using Surface Plasmon Polaritons

August 15, 2014

Researchers from the NIST Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST) have established guidelines for using surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) to improve

Scale-Model Smokestack To Study GHG Emissions Monitoring

August 15, 2014

Construction is nearly complete on one of the world's more unusual precision measurement facilities: A 50 meter horizontal smokestack located on NIST's

NIST Therapy for Ultraviolet Laser Beams: Hydrogen-treated Fibers

August 11, 2014

To make a better optical fiber for transmitting laser beams, the first idea that comes to mind is probably not a nice long hydrogen bath. And yet, scientists

Beyond Six Nines: Ultra-enriched Silicon Paves the Road to Quantum Computing

August 11, 2014

Using a relatively straightforward technique, a team of NIST researchers has created what may be the most highly enriched silicon currently being produced. The

NIST Ion Duet Offers Tunable Module for Quantum Simulator

August 6, 2014

Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have demonstrated a pas de deux of atomic ions that combines the fine choreography of

It's a Dynamic World, Now NIST Can Help You Measure Its Changes

August 1, 2014

Crash-test dummies, yarn-spinning machines and steel girders in bridges. What do they have in common? Look inside them all and you find transducers, devices

'Comb on a Chip' Powers New NIST/Caltech Atomic Clock Design

July 22, 2014

Researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have demonstrated a new design for

Fill 'er Up: NIST Develops Prototype Meter Test for Hydrogen Refueling Stations

July 21, 2014

To support the fair sale of gaseous hydrogen as a vehicle fuel, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a

NIST Shows Ultrasonically Propelled Nanorods Spin Dizzyingly Fast

July 21, 2014

Vibrate a solution of rod-shaped metal nanoparticles in water with ultrasound and they'll spin around their long axes like tiny drill bits. Why? No one yet

A phantom (life-size dummy) in the scanner

Backscatter Body Scan Redux

July 21, 2014

Airline passengers have already said bon voyage to the controversial backscatter x-ray security scanners, pulled from U.S. airports in 2013 over concerns about

Manipulating Magnetic Field Effects in Organic Semiconductors

July 10, 2014

Changing the polarity of the magnetic field response of a material one thousandth the width of a human hair may seem like the stuff of science fiction, but that

NIST researchers are gathering skin reflectance data to establish the variation found in human tissue in order to develop reference standards for hyperspectral imaging applications.

Seeing Your True Colors: Standards for Hyperspectral Imaging

July 1, 2014

Today, doctors who really want to see if a wound is healing have to do a biopsy or some other invasive technique that, besides injuring an already injured

New NIST Metamaterial Gives Light a One-Way Ticket

July 1, 2014

The light-warping structures known as metamaterials have a new trick in their ever-expanding repertoire. Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and

Rush a Light Wave and You'll Break Its Data, say NIST Scientists

May 29, 2014

Quantum information can't break the cosmic speed limit, according to researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the

Small image of the CNST News Winter-Spring 2014 Cover

CNST Releases the Winter/Spring 2014 Edition of the CNST News

May 28, 2014

The NIST Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST) is pleased to announce the release of the Winter/Spring 2014 edition of The CNST News. This

NIST engineer Tasshi Dennis with NIST's solar simulator based on a white light laser.

Novel NIST Laser System Mimics Sunlight to Test Solar Cell Efficiency

May 28, 2014

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a laser-based instrument that generates artificial sunlight to help test

AFM Systems Take a Tip from Nanowires

May 22, 2014

In response to requests from the semiconductor industry,* a team of PML researchers has demonstrated that atomic force microscope (AFM) probe tips made from its

Nanoelectronics: First Measurement of Moly's Thermal Conductivity

May 21, 2014

Angela Hight Walker of PML's Semiconductor and Dimensional Metrology Division and colleagues have succeeded in measuring a previously unknown but essential

JILA Study Finds Crowding Has Big Effects on Biomolecules

May 20, 2014

Crowding has notoriously negative effects at large size scales, blamed for everything from human disease and depression to community resource shortages. But

Was this page helpful?

Advanced communications
-Open Radio Access Network (Open-RAN)
-Quantum communications
-Spectrum sharing
-Wireless (RF)
Artificial intelligence
-AI measurement and evaluation
-Autonomous systems
--Automated vehicles
--Autonomous laboratories
-Applied AI
-Fundamental AI
-Hardware for AI
-Machine learning
-Trustworthy and responsible AI
Bioscience
-Bioeconomy
--Biological data
-Bioimaging
-Bioinformatics
-Biomanufacturing
-Biomaterials
-Biometrology
-Biosecurity
--Biosurveillance
--Genomic cybersecurity
--Nucleic acid sequence screening
-Cell measurements
-Engineering / synthetic biology
--Biofabrication
--Cell-free systems
--Genome engineering
--Protein engineering
-Gene delivery systems
-Genome editing
-Genomics
-Glycomics
-Metabolomics
-Microbial measurements
-Proteomics
Buildings and Construction
-Building codes and standards
-Building control systems
-Building damage and repair
-Building economics
-Building materials
-Energy efficiency
-Heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment
-Indoor air quality
-Structural engineering
-Thermal comfort
Chemistry
-Analytical chemistry
-Chemical engineering and processing
-Chemical thermodynamics and chemical properties
-Molecular characterization
-Theoretical chemistry and modeling
-Thermochemical properties
Electronics
-Electromagnetics
-Flexible electronics
-Magnetoelectronics
-Optoelectronics
-Organic electronics
-Semiconductors
-Sensors
-Superconducting electronics
Energy
-Alternative energy
-Conventional energy
-Electric power / smart grid
-Fuels
Environment
-Air / water / soil quality
-Climate Measurements
-Environmental health
-Greenhouse gas measurements
-Marine science
-Sustainability
Fire
-Fire detection
-Fire dynamics and science
-Fire fighting
-Fire modeling
-Fire risk reduction
-Materials flammability
-Structural fire resistance
-Wildland urban interface fire
Forensic Science
-Digital evidence
-Drugs and toxicology
-Firearms and toolmarks
-Forensic biometrics
-Forensic genetics
-Trace evidence
Health
-Biopharmaceuticals
-Cell and gene therapy
-Clinical diagnostics
--Cancer
--Medical imaging
-Food and nutrition
-Human microbiome
-Precision medicine
-Regenerative medicine and advanced therapy
--Flow cytometry
Information technology
-Biometrics
-Cloud computing and virtualization
-Complex systems
-Computational science
-Conformance testing
-Cyber-physical systems
--Smart cities
-Cybersecurity and privacy
--Cryptography
--Cybersecurity education and workforce development
--Cybersecurity measurement
--Identity and access management
--Privacy engineering
--Risk management
--Securing emerging technologies
--Trustworthy networks
--Trustworthy platforms
-Data and informatics
--Human language technology
--Information retrieval
--Natural language processing
-Digital twins
-Federal information processing standards (FIPS)
-Health IT
-Internet of Things (IoT)
-Interoperability testing
-Location based services
-Mobile
-Networking
--Mobile and wireless networking
--Network management and monitoring
--Network modeling and analysis
--Network security and robustness
--Network test and measurement
--Next generation networks
--Protocol design and standardization
--Software defined and virtual networks
-Software research
--Software testing
-Usability and human factors
--Accessibility
-Video analytics
-Virtual / augmented reality
-Visualization research
-Voting systems
Infrastructure
Manufacturing
-Additive manufacturing
-Factory communications
-Factory operations planning and control
-Interoperability in manufacturing
-Machining
-Manufacturing economics
-Manufacturing quality assurance
-Manufacturing systems design and analysis
-Monitoring, diagnostics and prognostics
-Process improvement
-Process measurement and control
-Product data
-Robotics
--Agility and adaptability
--Collaborative robots
--Dexterous grasping
--Manipulation
--Mobility and industrial autonomous vehicles
--Navigation / actuation / control
--Sensing and perception
-Supply chain
-Sustainable manufacturing
-Systems engineering
-Systems integration
-Technology commercialization
Materials
-Ceramics
-Composites
-Concrete / cement
-Materials characterization
--Composition and structure
--Mechanical properties
--Thermal properties
-Metals
-Modeling and computational material science
-Polymers
-Superconductors
Mathematics and statistics
-Experiment design
-Image and signal processing
-Modeling and simulation research
-Numerical methods and software
-Statistical analysis
-Uncertainty quantification
Metrology
-Amount of substance
-Dimensional metrology
-Electrical / electromagnetic metrology
-Flow metrology and rheology
-Force metrology
-Humidity metrology
-Ionizing radiation metrology
-Mass metrology
-Metric
-Optical / photometry / laser metrology
-Pressure and vacuum metrology
-Thermometry metrology
-Time and frequency metrology
-Weights and measures
Nanotechnology
-Nanobiotechnology
-Nanochemistry
-Nanoelectronics
-Nanofabrication / manufacturing
--Lithography
--Self-assembly
-Nanofluidics
-Nanomagnetics
-Nanomaterials
-Nanomechanics
-Nanometrology
-Nanophotonics
-Nanophysics
-Nanoplasmonics
Neutron research
Performance excellence
-Assessment tools and services
-Baldrige award
-Baldrige examiners
-Baldrige Framework and Criteria
-Best practices
-Leadership development
Physics
-Atomic / molecular / quantum
-Biological physics
-Condensed matter
-Electron physics
-Magnetics
-Nuclear physics
-Optical physics and communications
-Quantum information science
-Radiation
-Spectroscopy
-Thermodynamics
-Time and frequency
Public safety
-Chemical / Biological / Radiological / Nuclear / Explosives (CBRNE)
-First responder preparedness
-Law enforcement
-Public safety communications research
-Response robots
Resilience
-Community resilience
--Recovery
--Resilience metrics
-Disaster and failure studies
-Earthquake risk reduction
-Resilience economics
-Resilient materials
-Windstorm impact reduction
Standards
-Accreditation
-Calibration services
-Conformity assessment
-Documentary standards
-Frameworks
-Quality assurance
-Reference data
-Reference instruments
-Reference materials
-Standards education
Technology transfer
Transportation
-Aerospace
-Automotive