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Physical Measurement Laboratory

Quantum Measurement Division

News and Updates

Keyword

Topic Area

Updates to Fundamental Constants Reflect Redefinition of International System of Units

December 16, 2021

The CODATA Task Group on Fundamental Constants recently produced its 2018 update of a self-consistent set of internationally recommended values of the basic...

Measuring Up: NIST Calibrates Masses for Unique Air Force Deadweight Machines

November 18, 2021

Mechanical engineers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have just finished calibrating several dozen large metal masses, which will be...

Testing 1-2: New Laser-Based Microphone Calibration Measures Up

September 2, 2021

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have conducted the first demonstration of a faster and more accurate way to calibrate...

Exploring quantum gravity—for whom the pendulum swings.

August 18, 2021

When it comes to a marriage with quantum theory, gravity is the lone holdout among the four fundamental forces in nature. The three others—the electromagnetic...

Latest Values of Fundamental Constants Published

July 13, 2021

Four scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have reported the latest values for the fundamental constants of nature on June...

A photon is absorbed, creating an electron–hole pair (carrier pair).

Light Fantastic: Counting Single Photons at Unprecedented Rates

April 12, 2021

In high-end 21 st century communications, information travels in the form of a stream of light pulses typically traveling through fiber optic cables. Each pulse...

Bringing Atoms to a Standstill: NIST Miniaturizes Laser Cooling

January 21, 2021

It’s cool to be small. Scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have miniaturized the optical components required to cool atoms...

Error-Prone Quantum Bits Could Correct Themselves, NIST Physicists Show

December 8, 2020

One of the chief obstacles facing quantum computer designers — correcting the errors that creep into a processor’s calculations — could be overcome with a new...

A Billion Tiny Pendulums Could Detect the Universe’s Missing Mass

October 13, 2020

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and their colleagues have proposed a novel method for finding dark matter, the cosmos’s...

Quantum Matchmaking: New NIST System Detects Ultra-Faint Communications Signals Using the Principles of Quantum Physics

September 23, 2020

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have devised and demonstrated a system that could dramatically increase the performance...

To Tune Up Your Quantum Computer, Better Call an AI Mechanic

March 31, 2020

A high-end race car engine needs all its components tuned and working together precisely to deliver top-quality performance. The same can be said about the...

Opposite sides of a quartz crystal resonator

Universe in the Balance

February 12, 2020

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have found a way to link measurements made by a device integral to microchip...

A New Playbook for Interference

December 17, 2019

Particles can sometimes act like waves, and photons (particles of light) are no exception. Just as waves create an interference pattern, like ripples on a pond...

A woman and a man stand in front of scientific equipment, including a large green tank.

Spotlight: Gillian Nave and Jacob Ward

November 18, 2019

STEM is STELLAR! In November 2019, NIST’s Gillian Nave and Jacob Ward brought celebrations of Mercury’s transit (the point where Mercury passes between the...

A twist and a spin: harnessing two quantum properties transforms a neutron beam into a powerful probe of material structure

October 29, 2019

By cleverly manipulating two properties of a neutron beam, NIST scientists and their collaborators have created a powerful probe of materials that have complex...