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Physical Measurement Laboratory

News and Updates

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Witness Testing in Official Weights and Measures Inspections

April 1, 2024

Weights and measures inspections provide a legally required, independent validation of the accuracy of commercial weighing and measuring devices; provide a...

Fun and Games: Teach and Learn Measurement System Basics with the SI Units Card Deck

April 1, 2024

It’s easy to learn the metric system with the SI Units Card Deck (NIST SP 1297), an interactive educational activity that helps learners build their skills...

NIST Researchers Use Cellphone Compass to Measure Tiny Concentrations of Compounds Important for Human Health

April 1, 2024

Nearly every modern cellphone has a built-in compass, or magnetometer, that detects the direction of Earth’s magnetic field, providing critical information for...

Bullseye! NIST Devises a Method to Accurately Center Quantum Dots Within Photonic Chips

March 18, 2024

Devices that capture the brilliant light from millions of quantum dots, including chip-scale lasers and optical amplifiers, have made the transition from...

Researchers develop a new type of frequency comb that promises to further boost the accuracy of time keeping

March 14, 2024

Chip-based devices known as frequency combs, which measure the frequency of light waves with unparalleled precision, have revolutionized time keeping, the...

Shrinking Technology, Expanding Horizons: Compact Chips Advance Precision Timing for Communications, Navigation and Other Applications

March 6, 2024

This technology shrinks a tabletop system into a chip-sized format, reducing power usage and making it more applicable for use in everyday devices.

NIST Physicist Sae Woo Nam, Pioneer in Single-Photon Detectors, Passes Away

March 1, 2024

During his 25-year career at NIST, Sae Woo performed groundbreaking work. He died in January at 53.

Artist’s rendering of an organ-on-a-chip device

NIST-Led Working Group Developing Standards for Organ-on-a-Chip Research

February 22, 2024

When testing a new medicine, researchers must do more than assess how well that drug works. They also have to determine whether the medicine has some negative...

Scientists Observe Long-Predicted Superconductor Property Using a Quantum Simulator

February 14, 2024

New insights can help scientists make superconducting materials more robust and useful.

An illustrated anatomically correct human heart sits inside of a microchip, with its valves connecting to the microchip sensors.

Heart-on-a-Chip: A Microfluidic Marvel Shaping the Future of Cardiovascular Research

February 6, 2024

Researchers at NIST have developed bioelectronic devices capable of real-time measurements of cell behavior.

A sunset. Text reads: "Radio Station WWVH. Reception Report, 15.0 MHz. Serial #23818. Date 4/7/2023."

Spotlight: Disseminating Time Signals Far and Wide With NIST’s Radio Stations

January 31, 2024

There are dedicated, enthusiastic people in this world who have made a cause (and hobby) out of saying, “I heard that.” NIST is keenly aware. We’re talking...

Micrograph shows six blue boxes with thin lines at the center, each connected to white rectangular shapes.

Spotlight: A New Wavelength of Scientific Exploration With Single-Photon Detectors

January 29, 2024

From the minuscule bindings of molecules to the far reaches of space, we’re exploring the universe around us by catching sight of the smallest particles of...

Microwave Detectors and Multiplexing: NIST Researchers Help Astronomers Examine the Early Universe

January 24, 2024

Perched atop a high plateau in Chile’s Atacama Desert, a long-awaited observatory is beginning to take shape: the largest suite of ground-based telescopes...

OWM Recognizes Contributions of Proficiency Testing Coordinators at RMAPs

January 3, 2024

The OWM Laboratory Metrology group operates an ISO 17043 compliant Proficiency Testing (PT) program that assesses the effectiveness of the metrology training...

People checking out in a grocery store with person seated scanning items

2024 National Price Verification Survey

January 3, 2024

NIST Office of Weights and Measures (OWM) is collaborating with the National Conference on Weights and Measures (NCWM), together with 28 state and 38 local...

NIST Researchers Help Design a Prototype Quantum Computer

December 20, 2023

Researchers have created a prototype quantum computer with a record number of qubits—the analog of bits in an ordinary computer—capable of performing logical...

NIST’s Ultra-small, Shape-shifting GEMS Offer an Easier and Cheaper way to improve MRI Imaging

December 20, 2023

Microscopic magnetic probes that change shape in response to their environment may greatly enhance magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). However, producing the...

Do the Bump: NIST Scientists Perfect Miniaturized Technique to Generate Precise Wavelengths of Visible Laser Light

November 28, 2023

In research, sometimes the bumpy path proves to be the best one. By creating tiny, periodic bumps in a miniature racetrack for light, researchers at the...

Partially Unraveling an Entangled Mystery

October 26, 2023

Entanglement—a uniquely quantum phenomenon that intimately links the fate of subatomic particles even if they reside on opposite sides of the galaxy—is a key...

Illustrated celestial body shines on a flat box-shaped device with a protruding center.

NIST Team Develops Highest-Resolution Single-Photon Superconducting Camera

October 25, 2023

Researchers at NIST and their colleagues have built a superconducting camera containing 400,000 pixels — 400 times more than any other device of its type.

Twisted Science: NIST Researchers Find a New Quantum Ruler to Explore Exotic Matter

October 5, 2023

A single-atom-thick sheet of carbon known as graphene has remarkable properties on its own, but things can get even more interesting when you stack up multiple...

NIST Researchers Develop a Breakthrough COVID-19 Detection Technology

October 2, 2023

“Only connect” is the most famous line in the British novelist E. M. Forster’s writings. Forster was urging the readers of his book Howard’s End to make...

Measuring Up: NIST’s Missile Defense Transfer Radiometer

September 29, 2023

If you’re undergoing a missile attack and that missile is above the atmosphere, the best place to destroy it is while it’s still in space. To do that, you need...

What is the true meaning of a “scale division” (d) versus a “verification scale division” (e)

September 28, 2023

Introduction If you are a state weights and measures official, scale manufacturer, or any other stakeholder dealing with scales used for commercial transactions...

2023 NIST Internship Reflections

September 28, 2023

During the summer of 2023, the NIST Physical Measurement Laboratory’s ( PML) Office of Weights and Measures ( OWM) hosted four undergraduate students who were...

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