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Physical Measurement Laboratory

News and Updates

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NIST Tests Underscore Potential Hazards of Green Laser Pointers

March 20, 2013

Using a low-cost apparatus designed to quickly and accurately measure the properties of handheld laser devices, National Institute of Standards and Technology...

New NIST Microscope Measures Nanomagnet Property Vital to 'Spintronics'

March 14, 2013

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a new microscope able to view and measure an important but elusive...

PML Scientists Make Better SEM Imaging and Measurements in the Nano Era Possible

March 14, 2013

Since the inception of the scanning electron microscope (SEM), users have encountered the persistent problem of contamination. Cleanliness is required for...

NIST Mechanical Micro-Drum Used as Quantum Memory

March 13, 2013

One of the oldest forms of computer memory is back again—but in a 21st century microscopic device designed by physicists at the National Institute of Standards...

CNST Releases the Winter 2013 Edition of The CNST News

March 11, 2013

The NIST Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST) is pleased to announce the release of the Winter 2013 edition of The CNST News. This quarterly...

MRI: Contrast Agents of Change

March 5, 2013

Thanks to burgeoning progress in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), it may soon be possible to track and study, in vivo and in real time, heretofore invisible...

Large Mass Calibration -- A Matter of Scale

March 5, 2013

Few substances are tracked more closely and stored more carefully than the nuclear waste produced at power plants and elsewhere. So the properties of the large...

New Player in Electron Field Emitter Technology Makes for Better Imaging and Communications

March 5, 2013

Scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Maryland, College Park, have built a practical, high-efficiency...

NIST Quantum Refrigerator Offers Extreme Cooling and Convenience

March 5, 2013

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have demonstrated a solid-state refrigerator that uses quantum physics in micro- and...

New NIST Time Code to Boost Reception for Radio-Controlled Clocks

March 5, 2013

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is changing the way it broadcasts time signals that synchronize radio-controlled "atomic" clocks and...

Temp-Controlled 'Nanopores' May Allow Detailed Blood Analysis

March 5, 2013

Tiny biomolecular chambers called nanopores that can be selectively heated may help doctors diagnose disease more effectively if recent research by a team at...

Nanoelectronics Conference Will Focus on Semiconductor Industry's Future

March 5, 2013

How the semiconductor industry can create the next generations of nanoscale computing technology will be one of the themes of the 2013 International Conference...

In High Gear: Weights and Measures Week 2013

March 4, 2013

From the fuel for your vehicle to a cab ride to the airport, all kinds of consumer products and services are sold by some measurable quantity. The methods for...

Green and Gold: NIST Boulder's New Laboratory Achieves LEED Gold Certification

February 20, 2013

The new Precision Measurement Laboratory (PML) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) campus in Boulder, Colo., has received LEED Gold...

High Efficiency in the Fastest Single-Photon Detector System

February 19, 2013

A single photon may not seem like much of a catch. But detecting photons one-by-one with near-perfect reliability is formidably difficult. It is also an...

NIST Captures Chemical Composition with Nanoscale Resolution

February 12, 2013

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Maryland have demonstrated that a new spectroscopy technique can...

Gauging the Needs of the Petroleum Industry

February 8, 2013

When he looked at the dramatic increase in his laboratory's thread gauge calibration income – a 50 % increase over last year and a 1000 % increase from 14 years...

Calculating Quantum Vacuum Forces in Nanostructures

February 7, 2013

One of the surprising predictions of quantum mechanics is that uncharged conductors can attract each other over small distances, even in empty space. While the...

Marlin Kraft adjusts a current shunt connection.

Minimizing Uncertainty in Current Events

January 28, 2013

The electrical power industry – and the equipment makers and calibration laboratories that serve it – need to be able to quantify DC currents of hundreds or...

NIST Accepting Proposals for Fundamental Measurement Grants

January 24, 2013

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is soliciting proposals to support significant research in the field of fundamental measurement or the...

DNA and Quantum Dots: All That Glitters is Not Gold

January 24, 2013

A team of researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has shown that by bringing gold nanoparticles close to the dots and using a...

The circular patch of carbon nanotubes on a pink silicon backing is one component of NIST's new cryogenic radiometer, shown with a quarter for scale.

NIST's 'Nanotubes on a Chip' May Simplify Optical Power Measurements

January 24, 2013

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has demonstrated a novel chip-scale instrument made of carbon nanotubes that may simplify absolute...

A Whole New Angle on Neutron Spin Analysis

January 18, 2013

For most Americans, neutron spin-polarization filter cells are a relatively rare topic of conversation. Yet these exotic devices are essential to instruments...

Controlling Particles for Directed Self-Assembly of Colloidal Crystals

January 17, 2013

Researchers from the NIST Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology and the Johns Hopkins University have developed a technique to reliably manipulate...

Solid state lighting program produces solid benefits

January 9, 2013

A recently published, descriptive case study highlights the benefits of NIST's leadership in developing standards for solid state lighting.* "NIST is making...

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