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When the universe was very young – about a trillionth of a trillionth of a trillionth of a second after the Big Bang – it underwent a sudden explosive expansion
The Pilot Study — read 2016 article details — was completed in late 2016 and the Final Report was published on the BIPM website (PDF) in June of 2017. The main
A decade before an iceberg shattered the hull plates of the Titanic and half a century before a plague of brittle fractures started sinking Liberty ships during
Paving the way for transforming the world’s measurement system, an international task force has determined updated values for four fundamental constants of
Ask most folks what they would need to find planets orbiting distant stars, and very few will list a bottle of iodine.
Yet that element plays a vital role in
Using a state-of-the-art device for measuring mass, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have made their most precise
In an arranged marriage of optics and mechanics, physicists have created microscopic structural beams that have a variety of powerful uses when light strikes
Accelerometers — devices that measure change in velocity — are built into automobiles, airplanes, cell phones, pacemakers, and scores of other products
Contrary to the popular maxim, resistance is not futile. But it is quantized: The ratings of the heat-making resistors in your hair dryer or toaster ultimately
When your heart beats, blood courses through your arteries in waves of pressure. These pressure waves manifest as your pulse, a regular rhythm unperturbed by
Next year, scientists expect to change the way we define the basic units with which we measure our universe. An article by scientists at the National Institute
When the kilogram, the world’s basic unit of mass, gets a new definition in 2018, it will be based not on a physical artifact but a constant of nature. However
Fundamental constants are physical quantities that are universal in nature. For example, the speed of light in vacuum and the charge of a single electron are
If you spend time in physics research circles, you may have heard of the big G controversy. The universal constant of gravitation, G – affectionately known as
When is a traffic jam not a traffic jam? When it's a quantum traffic jam, of course. Only in quantum physics can traffic be standing still and moving at the
For the first time, a team including scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have used neutron beams to create holograms of
Individual photons of light now can be detected far more efficiently using a device patented by a team including the National Institute of Standards and
Laser applications may benefit from crystal research by scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and China's Shandong University
Photons are bizarre: They have no mass, but they do have momentum. And that allows researchers to do counterintuitive things with photons, such as using light
A high-tech version of an old-fashioned balance scale at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has just brought scientists a critical step
The last few bolts were tightened just weeks ago – by hand. Now fully restored, NIST's 4.45 meganewton (one million pounds-force) deadweight machine – the
By manipulating the behavior of particles at a quantum level, scientists at the Joint Quantum Institute (JQI, a research partnership of NIST and the University
It's official: NIST's 4.45-million newton (equivalent to one million pounds-force) deadweight machine – the largest in the world – is back in one piece after a
They activate airbags. Keep aircraft correctly positioned in flight. Detect earthquakes or sudden vibrations in failing machinery. Guide military hardware