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Physical Measurement Laboratory

Time and Frequency Division

News and Updates

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NIST Physicist David Wineland to Share 2010 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Physics

October 20, 2009

David J. Wineland, a physicist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), will share the 2010 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Physics for

NIST Updates Popular Guide to Radio-Controlled Clocks

September 22, 2009

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has updated its popular guide to radio-controlled clocks. Many millions of radio-controlled clocks

black background with a bluish-purple circle of light in the middle

Ytterbium Gains Ground in Quest for Next-Generation Atomic Clocks

August 11, 2009

An experimental atomic clock based on ytterbium atoms is about four times more accurate than it was several years ago, giving it a precision comparable to that

NIST Demonstrates Sustained Quantum Computation Processing

August 11, 2009

Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have demonstrated sustained, reliable information processing operations on electrically

NIST Demonstrates Sustained Quantum Processing in Step Toward Building Quantum Computers

August 6, 2009

BOULDER, Colo.—Raising prospects for building a practical quantum computer, physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have

The NIST "stylus trap" can hold a single ion (electrically charged atom) above any of the three sets of concentric cylinders on the centerline.

NIST Develops Novel Ion Trap for Sensing Force and Light

June 30, 2009

Miniature devices for trapping ions (electrically charged atoms) are common components in atomic clocks and quantum computing research. Now, a novel ion trap

NIST Physicists Demonstrate Quantum Entanglement in Mechanical System

June 3, 2009

BOULDER, Colo.—Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have demonstrated entanglement—a phenomenon peculiar to the atomic-scale

NIST Physicists Win European and Optics Society Awards

May 5, 2009

Jun Ye, a NIST Fellow working at JILA, a joint institute of NIST and the University of Colorado at Boulder, has received the 2009 European Frequency and Time

NIST Physicist James Bergquist Elected to National Academy of Sciences

May 5, 2009

Physicist James C. Bergquist, a Fellow at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) whose research helped usher in the age of optical atomic

trapped beryllium ions in a hexagonal single-plane crystal

NIST Develops Powerful Method of Suppressing Errors in Many Types of Quantum Computers

April 22, 2009

BOULDER, Colo.—Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have demonstrated a technique for efficiently suppressing errors in

Colorado Governor Ritter Honors NIST Internet Time Service

February 24, 2009

On Feb. 17, Governor Bill Ritter of Colorado presented the 2009 CO-LABS Governor's Awards for Research Impact to scientists from five federal research

Wherefore a Leap Second?

December 23, 2008

The spin of the Earth is slowing down. Not by much; only about 0.002 seconds a day (it varies), relative to our modern definition of the second. The varying

NIST Physicist Wins OSA's First Walther Award

November 25, 2008

NIST physicist David Wineland will receive the inaugural Herbert Walther Award in recognition of his "seminal contributions to quantum information physics and

Physicist David J. Wineland of NIST Boulder Laboratories in Colorado

NIST Physicist Wineland Awarded 2007 National Medal of Science

September 3, 2008

Physicist David J. Wineland of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has been awarded the 2007 National Medal of Science. Wineland, 64, was

Record-setting Laser May Aid Searches for Earthlike Planets

May 13, 2008

Scientists at the University of Konstanz (Germany) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have demonstrated an ultrafast laser that

NIST 'Quantum Logic Clock' Rivals Mercury Ion as World's Most Accurate Clock

March 6, 2008

BOULDER, Colo.—An atomic clock that uses an aluminum atom to apply the logic of computers to the peculiarities of the quantum world now rivals the world's most

NIST Mini Sensor May 'Change the Way We Live'

March 5, 2008

Miniature magnetic sensors made at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have won a spot on Technology Review's annual list of 10

Prototype microchip device combining NIST's miniature atomic magnetometer with a fluid channel

'NMR on a Chip' Features NIST Magnetic Mini-Sensor

February 19, 2008

A super-sensitive mini-sensor developed at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) can detect nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) in tiny samples

New Strontium Atomic Clock at JILA is 'Best in Class'

February 19, 2008

A next-generation atomic clock that tops previous records for accuracy in clocks based on neutral atoms has been demonstrated by physicists at JILA, a joint

NIST Radio Station WWVH Gets Antenna Makeover

January 23, 2008

Radio station WWVH in Hawaii, operated since 1948 by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to broadcast time, frequency and other

This time code generator, built by NIST staff,

NIST Helps Beam Time to TV Viewers in the Middle East

December 12, 2007

Millions of satellite television and radio users in North Africa and the Middle East can now see and hear the precise time of day, thanks to technical

Illustration of NIST's new mini-magnetometer

New NIST Mini-Sensor May Have Biomedical and Security Applications

November 1, 2007

Boulder, Colo. – A tiny sensor that can detect magnetic field changes as small as 70 femtoteslas—equivalent to the brain waves of a person daydreaming—has been

‘Tunable’ Network Features Coordinated Frequency Combs

May 10, 2007

A super stable fiber-optic network that can be tuned across a range of visible and near-infrared frequencies while synchronizing the oscillations of light waves

First 2D Pictures of a 'Frequency Comb' Transform It into a Brush

February 7, 2007

BOULDER, Colo.—Physicists at the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have taken the first ever two-dimensional pictures

Countries Share Good Times Using GPS and the Internet

January 19, 2007

International time coordination is improving throughout the Americas thanks to a low-cost system relying on Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites and the

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