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Physical Measurement Laboratory

Quantum Measurement Division

News and Updates

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Universe’s Constants Now Known with Sufficient Certainty to Completely Redefine the International System of Units

November 22, 2016

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

Big G Redux: Solving the Mystery of a Perplexing Result

November 16, 2016

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

This artist’s conception imagines the proposed ring of atoms as cars on a beltway.

Atomic Beltway Could Solve Problems of Cosmic Gravity

November 14, 2016

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

Move Over, Lasers: Scientists Can Now Create Holograms from Neutrons, Too

October 20, 2016

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

NIST Patents Single-Photon Detector for Potential Encryption and Sensing Apps

September 15, 2016

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

Crystal Unclear: Why Might This Uncanny Crystal Change Laser Design?

August 26, 2016

Laser applications may benefit from crystal research by scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and China's Shandong University

Measuring Tiny Forces with Light

August 24, 2016

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

NIST's Newest Watt Balance Brings World One Step Closer to New Kilogram

June 21, 2016

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

Million-Pound Deadweight Machine Officially Open for Business

June 2, 2016

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

Powered by Quantum Cycles: Cold-Atom Pump

May 25, 2016

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

NIST's Million-Pound Weight Stack Restoration is Complete

April 25, 2016

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

new instrument for accelerometer testing

Precision Testing for MEMS Accelerometers

April 8, 2016

They activate airbags. Keep aircraft correctly positioned in flight. Detect earthquakes or sudden vibrations in failing machinery. Guide military hardware

Newly Patented NIST Technique Creates Precisely Sized Nanocontainers Useful for Drug Delivery

April 7, 2016

What if doctors could deliver anti-cancer drugs directly to tumors without making patients sick? Bringing this dream of targeted drug delivery closer to reality

NIST Creates Fundamentally Accurate Quantum Thermometer

March 15, 2016

Better thermometers might be possible as a result of a discovery at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), where physicists have found a way

Measuring Optical Power with Single-Photon Detectors

October 27, 2015

Precise measurements of optical power enable activities from fiber-optic communications to laser manufacturing and biomedical imaging — anything requiring a

Fundamental Constants: The Latest . . . and the Last?

October 26, 2015

In a world of incessant change, some things have to stay the same. One is the set of values for the fundamental physical constants – such as the speed of light

Quantum Simulation: Physics at the Edge

September 25, 2015

Scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have achieved a major milestone in simulating the dynamics of condensed-matter systems –

NIST Puts the Twist on Neutrons — Because It Takes One to Know One

September 23, 2015

A team of scientists working at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has found a way to put a twist on a beam of neutrons—a development

NIST Physicists Show 'Molecules' Made of Light May Be Possible

September 8, 2015

It's not lightsaber time, not yet. But a team including theoretical physicists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has taken another

Raising restored deadweight component from truck

Progress Report with Photos: Restoration of NIST's Million-Pound Deadweight Machine

June 30, 2015

Restoration is well underway for NIST's 4.45-million newton (equivalent to one million pounds-force) deadweight machine, the largest in the world. The three

NIST Tightens the Bounds on the Quantum Information 'Speed Limit'

April 14, 2015

If you're designing a new computer, you want it to solve problems as fast as possible. Just how fast is possible is an open question when it comes to quantum

Novel Neutron Detector Makes Scintillating Debut

March 9, 2015

A team of researchers has successfully demonstrated a new design concept for a neutron detector that does not rely – as nearly all current models do – on a

New Accelerometer Calibration Service to Start Soon

February 19, 2015

In a few weeks, NIST will begin offering a new, state-of-the-art calibration service for accelerometers. Based on a technique called laser interferometry, the

Restoration Begins on NIST's Million-Pound Deadweight Machine

January 27, 2015

For the first time in half a century, NIST's 4.45-million newton (equivalent to one million pounds-force) deadweight machine – the largest in the world – is

NIST Sensor Could Improve One of Nano Research's Most Useful Microscopes

December 16, 2014

Spotting molecule-sized features—common in computer circuits and nanoscale devices—may become both easier and more accurate with a sensor developed at the

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