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Physical Measurement Laboratory

News and Updates

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NIST's New Compact Atomic Clock Design Uses Cold Atoms to Boost Precision

November 5, 2013

Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have demonstrated a compact atomic clock design that relies on cold rubidium atoms

SIM Metrology School at NIST

November 4, 2013

They spanned 140 degrees of latitude – from Canada to Chile – and varied widely in age and experience. But their goal was the same: To improve their

The Reins of Casimir: Engineered Nanostructures Could Offer Way to Control Quantum Effect ... Once a Mystery Is Solved

October 22, 2013

You might think that a pair of parallel plates hanging motionless in a vacuum just a fraction of a micrometer away from each other would be like strangers

NIST Physicists 'Entangle' Microscopic Drum's Beat with Electrical Signals

October 22, 2013

Extending evidence of quantum behavior farther into the large-scale world of everyday life, physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology

NIST Carbon Nanotube Chips Go Ballooning for Climate Science

October 22, 2013

A huge plastic balloon floated high in the skies over New Mexico on Sept. 29, 2013, carrying instruments to collect climate-related test data with the help of

Force to be Reckoned With: NIST Measures Laser Power with Portable Scale

October 22, 2013

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have demonstrated a novel method for measuring laser power by reflecting the light off

NIST/JQI Team 'Gets the Edge' on Photon Transport in Silicon

October 22, 2013

Scientists have a new way to edge around a difficult problem in quantum physics, now that a research team from the National Institute of Standards and

New Ion Source for Focused Ion Beams uses Cold Atomic Beam

October 17, 2013

Researchers from the NIST Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology and zeroK Nanotech Corporation have demonstrated a new ion source* that may enable focused

NIST Unveils Prototype Video Imaging System for Remote Detection of Hidden Threats

September 30, 2013

By adapting superconducting technology used in advanced telescope cameras, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have built a

Researchers Probe the Properties of Novel "Topological Insulators"

September 26, 2013

Researchers from the NIST Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST), the University of Maryland, and Seoul National University, Korea have achieved

CU-Boulder and NIST Joint Institute Physicist Ana Maria Rey Wins 2013 MacArthur Fellowship

September 25, 2013

Ana Maria Rey, a theoretical physicist and a fellow of JILA, a joint institute of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University

CNST Physicists Kevin Twedt and Vladimir Aksyuk

NIST Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology Researchers Introduce Blind Students to Nanoscale Science

September 19, 2013

In July 2013, 45 blind and visually impaired high school students from around the country gathered at Towson University for a weeklong event designed to expose

Beyond Quantum Simulation: JILA Physicists Create 'Crystal' of Spin-swapping Ultracold Gas Molecules

September 18, 2013

Physicists at JILA have created a crystal-like arrangement of ultracold gas molecules that can swap quantum "spin" properties with nearby and distant partners

Scanning electron micrographs showing a top-view and a cross sectional view (inset) of grayscale structures.

New Grayscale Technique Opens a Third Dimension for Nanoscale Lithography

August 28, 2013

Engineers at the NIST Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST) have developed a new technique for fabricating high aspect ratio three-dimensional (3D)

NIST Ytterbium Atomic Clocks Set Record for Stability

August 22, 2013

A pair of experimental atomic clocks based on ytterbium atoms at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has set a new record for stability

Wideband Wavelength Conversion Using Cavity Optomechanics

August 21, 2013

A team of researchers at the NIST Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST), the University of Maryland, and the California Institute of Technology

Image output from a 3D laser scanning measurement system.

Collaboration with Industry Leads to Improved Forensics Work and Industry Growth

August 20, 2013

Three-dimensional (3D) scanners used at crime scenes for forensic investigations are not just the stuff of prime time television. Investigators and crime

New Explanation for Key Step in Anthrax Infection Proposed by NIST and USAMRIID

August 20, 2013

A new hypothesis concerning a crucial step in the anthrax infection process has been advanced by scientists at the National Institute of Standards and

Spraying Mosquitoes . . . with Gamma Rays

August 16, 2013

A recently announced malaria vaccine – found to be 100 % effective in a small human sample – was years in the making, and its creators had to overcome many

Yuqin Zong with LED timetime test enclosure

LEDs Get a Life Sentence

August 15, 2013

The light-emitting diode (LED) appears on track to become the light of our lives. Switching to bright, energy-efficient, durable, and environmentally friendly

JILA Researchers Discover Atomic Clock Can Simulate Quantum Magnetism

August 8, 2013

Researchers at JILA have for the first time used an atomic clock as a quantum simulator, mimicking the behavior of a different, more complex quantum system

The Persistence of Memory: Looking into MRAM

August 5, 2013

Many in the electronics industry want to change how memories are made. So PML scientists are exploring the physics and developing the metrology required to do

A Step Towards Energy-Efficient Voltage Control of Magnetic Devices

July 30, 2013

Researchers from the NIST Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology and the University of California, Berkeley have discovered a way to create simultaneous

Schematic showing association of two duplex precursors into a quadruplex fiber building block. Bottom: AFM image of quadruplex DNA nanofibers.

Stiffening the Backbone of DNA Nanofibers

July 23, 2013

An international collaboration including researchers from the NIST Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology and the Universidad San Francisco de Quito

New NIST Standard Reference Material to Help Calibrate Hospital CAT Scanners

July 23, 2013

Scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a new standard reference material (SRM), the first such measurement tool

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