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Physical Measurement Laboratory

News and Updates

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A Measurement First: NIST 'Noise Thermometry' System Measures Boltzmann Constant

March 30, 2011

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have for the first time used an apparatus that relies on the "noise" of jiggling

NIST to Cosponsor Conference in France on Nanoelectronics Metrology

March 15, 2011

Registration is now open for the eighth international Frontiers of Characterization and Metrology for Nanoelectronics conference, cosponsored by the National

Colorized micrograph of NIST's aluminum drum

NIST Electromechanical Circuit Sets Record Beating Microscopic 'Drum'

March 9, 2011

BOULDER, Colo.—Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have demonstrated an electromechanical circuit in which microwaves

CNST Researchers Use Spin Waves to Measure Magnetic Polarization of Electrical Current

March 7, 2011

In the hard drive industry, the rapid growth of storage density has been propelled in part by developments in the sensors used to read the magnetic "bits" on

ultracold gas of nearly 200,000 rubidium-87 atoms

JQI Physicists Demonstrate Coveted 'Spin-Orbit Coupling' for the First Time in Ultracold Atomic Gases

March 2, 2011

GAITHERSBURG, Md.—Physicists at the Joint Quantum Institute (JQI), a collaboration of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the

NIST, Food Marketing Institute Co-Host Webinar on Ensuring Accurate Net Weights in Retail

March 1, 2011

A reliable and trustworthy system of weights and measures is vital for economic activity. Maintaining that system requires constant vigilance, and that's where

CNST Research Elucidates the Effect of Disorder on Magnetic Vortex Gyration

February 28, 2011

Much of the world's information is stored in memories consisting of magnetic domains, and researchers continue to develop new domain arrangements to enable

Quantum Hot Potato: NIST Researchers Entice Two Atoms to Swap Smallest Energy Units

February 23, 2011

BOULDER, Colo.—Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have for the first time coaxed two atoms in separate locations to take

Etched Quantum Dots Shape Up as Single Photon Emitters, NIST Tests Show

February 22, 2011

Like snowflakes or fingerprints, no two quantum dots are identical. But a new etching method for shaping and positioning these semiconductor nanocrystals might

Here Comes the Sun: NIST Radio Station WWVH in Hawaii Adds Solar Power

February 15, 2011

The sun is now a significant power source for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) radio station WWVH, which broadcasts time of day, marine

Cross-section of a high-temperature superconducting cable design invented at NIST.

Compact High-Temperature Superconducting Cables Demonstrated at NIST

February 10, 2011

A researcher at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has invented a method of making high-temperature superconducting (HTS) cables that are

Quantum Quirk: JILA Scientists Pack Atoms Together to Prevent Collisions in Atomic Clock

February 3, 2011

BOULDER, Colo.—In a paradox typical of the quantum world, JILA scientists have eliminated collisions between atoms in an atomic clock by packing the atoms

NIST researcher Dawn Cross calibrating a mercury thermometer

End of an Era: NIST to Cease Calibrating Mercury Thermometers

February 2, 2011

Beginning March 1, 2011, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will no longer provide calibration services for mercury thermometers. The

CNST and LBL Researchers Develop a Full Numerical Model of EUV Imaging and Exposure Statistics

January 24, 2011

The tolerances on feature size, shape, and placement for next generation computer chips fabricated with extreme ultra-violet (EUV) lithography will range from a

Real-World Graphene Devices May Have a Bumpy Ride

January 19, 2011

Electronics researchers love graphene. A two-dimensional sheet of carbon one atom thick, graphene is like a superhighway for electrons, which rocket through the

Stretching, the Truth: JILA Biophysicists Help Unravel DNA Stretching Mystery

January 19, 2011

Using a new experimental test structure, biophysicists at JILA have unraveled part of a 15-year mystery in the mechanics of DNA—just how the molecule manages to

NIST Physicist Joseph Stroscio Named Among 2010 AAAS Fellows

January 19, 2011

Joseph Stroscio, a physicist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), has been named a Fellow of the American Association for the

New Wave: JILA Develops Efficient Source of Terahertz Radiation

January 19, 2011

JILA researchers have developed a laser-based source of terahertz radiation that is unusually efficient and less prone to damage than similar systems. The

NIST Advances Single Photon Management for Quantum Computers

January 19, 2011

The quantum computers of tomorrow might use photons, or particles of light, to move around the data they need to make calculations, but photons are tricky to

Schematic of flat electron wavefronts twisted into a fan of helices using a very thin film with a 5-micron-diameter pattern of nanoscale slits

NIST Puts a New Twist on the Electron Beam

January 13, 2011

Electron microscopes are among the most widely used scientific and medical tools for studying and understanding a wide range of materials, from biological

John Unguris Recognized as an American Physical Society Outstanding Referee

January 10, 2011

John Unguris, a Project Leader in the CNST Electron Physics Group, has been designated a 2011 Outstanding Referee by the American Physical Society (APS). This

Video still: Extracting mitochondria from a human cell (larger object on bottom right) is a tricky process.

Extracting Cellular 'Engines' May Aid in Understanding Mitochondrial Diseases

January 5, 2011

Medical researchers who crave a means of exploring the genetic culprits behind a host of neuromuscular disorders may have just had their wish granted by a team

Three From NIST Elected Fellows of American Physical Society

January 5, 2011

Three scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) were recently elected as 2010 fellows of the American Physical Society (APS), an

NIST Telescope Calibration May Help Explain Mystery of Universe's Expansion

January 5, 2011

Is the expansion of the universe accelerating for some unknown reason? This is one of the mysteries plaguing astrophysics, and somewhere in distant galaxies are

New Time Widget Puts Accurate Clocks on Web Pages

January 5, 2011

For Web site owners and bloggers, there is a new widget from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) that will keep your Web pages right on

Advanced communications
-Open Radio Access Network (Open-RAN)
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Information technology
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Infrastructure
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Materials
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Mathematics and statistics
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Metrology
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Nanotechnology
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