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Physical Measurement Laboratory

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Measuring Up: The Phantom of the Library

May 4, 2022

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has revolutionized medical diagnostics and research by providing a non-invasive way to investigate internal tissue structures...

A woman with a ponytail sits next to a rack of electronics, adjusting wiring.

Spotlight: Using PEACOCS to Link Atomic Time Signals Across Longer Distances

April 26, 2022

Networks linking atomic clocks on satellites with those on Earth promise an exciting new frontier for science, including in the search for mysterious dark...

$diffraction grating$

‘Exceptional’ Research: Unexpected Light Behavior May Be Harnessed to Improve Optical Communications and Sensors

April 21, 2022

Shine a flashlight into murky pond water and the beam won’t penetrate very far. Absorption and scattering rapidly diminishes the intensity of the light beam...

Inspired by Prehistoric Creatures, NIST Researchers Make Record-Setting Lenses

April 19, 2022

Five hundred million years ago, the oceans teemed with trillions of trilobites — creatures that were distant cousins of horseshoe crabs. All trilobites had a...

Prototype superconducting sensor is a square chip with lines running through it.

Spotlight: Looking Beyond the Standard Model to Explore Neutron Decay

April 12, 2022

This prototype NIST sensor may help solve some mysteries of the universe by looking beyond the Standard Model. The Standard Model is a long-standing theory that...

Frances Lloyd poses next to a microscope.

Spotlight: Revisiting a Powerful Pioneer for the World’s Voltage Standards

March 30, 2022

Frances Lloyd was rejoining the workforce in 1977 after taking time off to raise her child. She had an impressive background. Frances worked on aircraft...

The Future is Charged: U.S. Electric Vehicle Infrastructure

March 29, 2022 - September 30, 2022

Please see the Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment Program on the NIST OWM website for any current updates on NIST standards, measurement services, and training...

Photo of a student working in the laboratory

We're Back... OWM Welcomes Laboratory Metrology Students to Campus!

March 28, 2022

NIST Office of Weights and Measures (OWM) resumed limited in-person laboratory metrology training at the Gaithersburg campus starting on January 31, 2022. We...

Graphic Image of Weights and Measurements Featured Collection

Discover NIST Education Resources!

March 27, 2022

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) invites learners of all ages to explore and discover a wide variety of Science, Technology...

World Metrology Day Poster Graphic Image

Celebrate World Metrology Day on May 20

March 26, 2022

“World Metrology Day is an annual celebration of the signature of the Meter Convention on 20 May 1875 by representatives of seventeen nations. The Convention...

Ultraviolet Light Can Clean N95 Masks for Reuse Without Hindering Performance, NIST Study Shows

March 25, 2022

To combat COVID-19 amid supply shortages in 2020, health care facilities across the U.S. resorted to disinfecting personal protective equipment (PPE), such as...

Icon of clipboard with check marks and an x

OWM Launches New Metrology Training Needs Survey

March 25, 2022

The Office of Weights and Measures (OWM) is a relatively small office at NIST, but has a big footprint in the weights and measures community. With just over 20...

Not Letting It Slip By: NIST Discovery Could Increase Accuracy in Measuring Blood Flow for Cancer Diagnosis, Other Applications

March 22, 2022

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have discovered a potential source of error when using acoustic waves to measure the...

Painting of woman holding a mandolin has magnified section showing metal soap structures.

NIST, Collaborators Uncover New Details on the Formation of ‘Metal Soaps’ in Oil Paint Hindering the Conservation of Artworks

March 3, 2022

When you think of soaps, you may first picture the liquid foams or solid bars that wash away dirt, grime and bacteria. However, not all soaps are cleansers. In...

Measuring Up: Coming Out from the Cold

February 24, 2022

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have constructed and tested a system that allows commercial electronic components –...

Scientists Greatly Expand the Frequencies Generated by a Miniature Optical Ruler

February 23, 2022

Like a vocal coach who extends the octave range of an opera singer, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have expanded by...

NIST Researchers Propose Method for Modeling Smart Sensor Interoperability in Smart Grids

February 19, 2022

Smart sensors play a critical role in smart grids, supporting bidirectional flows of energy. Such sensors are needed for real-time monitoring of energy flow...

NIST Researchers Link Cutting-Edge Gravity Research to Safer Operation of Construction Cranes

February 17, 2022

In the beginning, all that Stephan Schlamminger wanted to do was to write down an equation that would help him obtain a more precise value for G, the...

JILA Atomic Clocks Measure Einstein’s General Relativity at Millimeter Scale

February 16, 2022

JILA physicists have measured Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity, or more specifically, the effect called time dilation, at the smallest scale ever...

Two tiny square chips are shown with a coin for scale.

Spotlight: A Literal Blast From the Past With NIST Quantum Sensors

February 10, 2022

This mite of a sensor just showed its forensic might. Researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory used the NIST sensors shown here to demonstrate a highly...

Hybrid Optical Device Captures Light for Longer Periods of Time in a Tiny Region

February 9, 2022

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and their colleagues have significantly improved the ability of a type of optical...

Strobe Light for 5G: NIST Imaging System Spotlights the Tiny Mechanical Hearts at the Core of Every Cellphone

February 4, 2022

Inside every cellphone lies a tiny mechanical heart, beating several billion times a second. These micromechanical resonators play an essential role in...

NIST Researchers Resurrect and Improve a Technique for Detecting Transistor Defects

February 3, 2022

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have revived and improved a once-reliable technique to identify and count defects in...

New Telecom Receiver System Checks Reliability of Message Components in Real Time

January 25, 2022

Scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have invented and demonstrated a novel scheme for substantially improving the detection...

A numbered orange plastic box on a lanyard is shown with a quarter for scale.

NIST’s Low-Cost Radio System Could Help Trace Disease Spread

January 24, 2022

In efforts to limit the spread of disease while preserving privacy, an interdisciplinary research team at the National Institute of Standards and Technology...

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