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Physical Measurement Laboratory

Sensor Science Division

News and Updates

Displaying 51 - 75 of 175
Moonset on the NIST campus

How Bright is the Moon, Really?

The “inconstant moon,” as Shakespeare called it in Romeo and Juliet, is more reliable than his pair of star-crossed lovers might have thought. Now researchers
piston gauge

A Faster Way to Calibrate Piston Gauges

For industry and government labs to ensure their pressure-measurement machines are working correctly, they need a reliable source of pressure. Often, that
Jacob Ricker

Making an Airtight Case for Freedom

President Abraham Lincoln’s first handwritten draft of the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, a historic document in the collection of the New York State
girl with paint on face

A Standard for Lighting Color Preference?

One of the goals of artificial lighting is to make things look natural. White light can make an otherwise appetizing sandwich look like garbage, if the reds
NIST researcher Jodie Pope with the big blue ball

Better Flowmeters with the Big Blue Ball

Last year, upwards of 25 trillion cubic feet of natural gas were delivered to customers in the United States, and when it changed hands, nearly every cubic foot
Johnson Noise Thermometry Chip

Noise, Temperature, and the New SI

NIST has recently made substantial improvements to its Johnson-noise thermometry system, which is playing a vital role in the worldwide effort to determine the
Microcystis in Lake Ontario, 2014.

Harmful Algal Blooms in Their True Colors

Explosive growth of cyanobacteria, also called blue-green algae, is nothing new. In fact, such cyanobacteria probably produced the original oxygen in Earth's
Weston Tew

SF6 Shows Promise as Mercury Substitute

Elemental mercury – which is being phased out of commercial thermometers worldwide due to safety concerns – may also be replaced as a temperature reference