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Physical Measurement Laboratory

News and Updates

Keyword

Topic Area

NIST’s Grid of Quantum Islands Could Reveal Secrets for Powerful Technologies

November 17, 2022

The grids provided playing fields in which electrons could behave in nearly ideal, textbook-like conditions.

Measuring Sunlight from Space, on a Chip

November 4, 2022

For 40 years, people have used space-based sensors to measure the amount of light coming from the Sun, which gives scientists insight into climate change on...

Entering a New Phase: NIST Technique Simultaneously Locates Multiple Defects on Microchip Circuits

November 3, 2022

Defective computer chips are the bane of the semiconductor industry. Even a seemingly minor flaw in a chip packed with billions of electrical connections might...

Research on the Rocks: Combining Neutrons and X-Ray Imaging, NIST Scientists Study Meteorites to Explore the Mystery of How Earth Acquired Its Water

November 3, 2022

Each year, hundreds of meteorites — rocky bodies left over from the formation of the solar system — bombard Earth, delivering minerals, metals and water to our...

Maria Munoz poses in the lab, wearing safety goggles and heavy gloves.

Spotlight: Maria Munoz’s Journey Into Spectroscopy Took Her Around the World

November 1, 2022

To reach this point, NIST postdoctoral researcher Maria Munoz journeyed across borders and seas. Take a trip with us as we trace her career path from elementary...

nucleic acid nanotechnology illustration

A Revolution Still in the Making: NIST Researchers Chart the Future of Nucleic Acid Nanotechnology

October 27, 2022

Trapped in a microscopic cage made of strands of DNA, molecules of a life-saving drug course through the bloodstream of a cancer patient. Only when receptors on...

Illustrations shows atoms connected with glowing lines inside the cylinder of the interferometer.

An Entangled Matter-Wave Interferometer: Now With Double the Spookiness!

October 20, 2022

A team of researchers at JILA has for the first time successfully combined two of the “spookiest” features of quantum mechanics to make a better quantum sensor.

NIST’s Superconducting Hardware Could Scale Up Brain-Inspired Computing

October 6, 2022

Scientists have long looked to the brain as an inspiration for designing computing systems.

Cameras and equipment set up in the studio in front of a table

NIST Office of Weights and Measures Launches Studio 220

September 30, 2022

Lights, camera, action! The vision to expand training capabilities within the Office of Weights and Measures (OWM) IACET accredited Training Program has become...

Graphic image with scale in front and person typing on a laptop in the background. Text on image reads: NIST Office of Weights and Measures, NIST SP 2200 Legal Metrology Publication Series.

NIST Office of Weights and Measures Launches New SP 2200 Legal Metrology Publication Series

September 29, 2022

In partnership with the NIST research library, the Office of Weights and Measures (OWM) has launched a new NIST Special Publication Series, SP 2200: Legal...

Hooked on Photonics? Math to the Rescue

September 28, 2022

Photonic thermometers – which measure temperature using light – have been around in optical fiber form for decades. These devices, called fiber Bragg gratings...

Infographic comparing characteristics of a checker vs. an inspector

Quantity Versus Quality of Inspections – Taking Shortcuts

September 28, 2022

This article was originally published in March 2005 and has been revamped and re-published here. As weights and measures jurisdictions grapple with finding the...

In-Person Training for Mulch and Soil Testing at the WWMA Annual Meeting

September 27, 2022

Now that we are attending meetings in-person again, this presents an opportunity for OWM staff to provide some of our training directly to our stakeholders...

Group photo outside of MidMAP training attendees

Regional Measurement Assurance Program (RMAP) Back on the Move

September 26, 2022

The Laboratory Metrology Program is wrapping up this year’s Regional Measurement Assurance Program (RMAP) training for the State Weights and Measures Laboratory...

Star Light, Star Bright … But Exactly How Bright?

September 22, 2022

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but for astronomers, simply recording images of stars and galaxies isn’t enough. To measure the true size and absolute...

Adam Kaufman poses for a head shot with a shelf of library books in the background.

NIST Physicist Adam Kaufman Wins Breakthrough New Horizons in Physics Prize

September 22, 2022

Kaufman won for his work in advancing the control of atoms and molecules to improve atomic clocks and quantum information processing.

Back to the Future: Gear Edition

September 12, 2022

As mechanical objects, gears have been around for so long that people may take them for granted. But gears are sophisticated parts that play a vital role in...

No Fib: NIST Unmasks a Superfast Process for Nanoscale Machining

August 23, 2022

Cutting intricate patterns as small as several billionths of a meter deep and wide, the focused ion beam (FIB) is an essential tool for deconstructing and...

A globe spins on a curved stand, blurring the shape of North America.

Spotlight: Keeping Time With the Earth’s Rotation

August 5, 2022

Scientists try to predict how the Earth’s rotation will change so they know how to steer the clocks in the future.

Calibrating the Universe: Behind the Scenes, NIST Scientists Play a Critical Role in Improving Gravitational Wave Measurements

August 2, 2022

Space-time ripples, exploding stars, colliding black holes …. and the National Institute of Standards and Technology? NIST doesn’t exactly come to mind when...