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Physical Measurement Laboratory

Time and Frequency Division

News and Updates

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Time to Celebrate: NIST Radio Station WWVB Logs 50 Years of Innovation

June 25, 2013

Fifty years ago on July 5, 1963, a modest radio station in Fort Collins, Colo., officially went on the airwaves—a landmark event for U.S. industry and the...

Close up of the NIST chip-scale atomic clock

NIST Scientists Win 2014 Rank Prizes for Chip-Scale Atomic Clock

May 28, 2013

Physicists John Kitching and Svenja Knappe of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will receive 2014 Rank Prizes in optoelectronics "for...

New NIST Time Code to Boost Reception for Radio-Controlled Clocks

March 5, 2013

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is changing the way it broadcasts time signals that synchronize radio-controlled "atomic" clocks and...

Physicist David J. Wineland of NIST Boulder Laboratories in Colorado

Congratulations to David Wineland! 2012 Nobel Laureate in Physics

October 9, 2012

We are thrilled at the news that NIST's David Wineland has been awarded the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physics, along with Professor Serge Haroche of the Collège de...

NIST's Webcast News Briefing on David Wineland's Nobel Prize in Physics

October 9, 2012

NIST's David Wineland has been awarded the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physics, along with Professor Serge Haroche of the Collège de France and Ecole Normale Supérieure...

NIST's Speedy Ions Could Add Zip to Quantum Computers

August 8, 2012

Take that, sports cars! Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) can accelerate their beryllium ions from zero to 100 miles per...

NIST Physicists Benchmark Quantum Simulator with Hundreds of Qubits

April 25, 2012

Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have built a quantum simulator that can engineer interactions among hundreds of quantum...

NIST Mini-sensor Measures Magnetic Activity in Human Brain

April 19, 2012

A miniature atom-based magnetic sensor developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has passed an important research milestone by...

NIST/CU 'Star Comb' Joins Quest for Earthlike Planets

March 6, 2012

If there is life on other planets, a laser frequency comb developed at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) may help find it. Such a comb—a...

This colorized photo shows trap cleaning in progress.

Argon Cleaning Helps Trapped Ions Chill Out

February 27, 2012

The reliability of trapped-ion quantum information systems – a promising candidate technology for an eventual quantum computer – can be dramatically improved by...

Future 'Comb on a Chip': NIST's Compact Frequency Comb Could Go Places

October 25, 2011

Laser frequency combs—extraordinarily precise tools for measuring frequencies (or colors) of light—have helped propel advances in timekeeping, trace gas...

All Time, All the Time: Improving NIST Radio

October 3, 2011

For huge numbers of people in North America who spend their days in schools, offices, stores, factories and public facilities, the time of their lives comes...

NIST Achieves Record-Low Error Rate for Quantum Information Processing with One Qubit

August 30, 2011

Thanks to advances in experimental design, physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have achieved a record-low probability of...

NIST Physicists 'Entangle' Two Atoms Using Microwaves for the First Time

August 10, 2011

BOULDER, Colo. – Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have for the first time linked the quantum properties of two separated...

Photo of UC graduate student Matt Kirchner fine-tuning an ultra-stable microwave generator at NIST

A Quiet Phase: NIST Optical Tools Produce Ultra-low-noise Microwave Signals

June 27, 2011

By combining advanced laser technologies in a new way, physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have generated microwave signals...

Photo of an advanced laser in the back of a car

Drive Test: NIST Super-stable Laser Shines in Minivan Experiment

May 10, 2011

In a step toward taking the most advanced atomic clocks on the road, physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have designed and...

Quantum Hot Potato: NIST Researchers Entice Two Atoms to Swap Smallest Energy Units

February 23, 2011

BOULDER, Colo.—Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have for the first time coaxed two atoms in separate locations to take...

Here Comes the Sun: NIST Radio Station WWVH in Hawaii Adds Solar Power

February 15, 2011

The sun is now a significant power source for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) radio station WWVH, which broadcasts time of day, marine...

New Time Widget Puts Accurate Clocks on Web Pages

January 5, 2011

For Web site owners and bloggers, there is a new widget from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) that will keep your Web pages right on...

NIST Mini-Sensor Traces Faint Magnetic Signature of Human Heartbeat

October 13, 2010

Researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the German national metrology institute have used NIST's miniature atom-based...

NIST Clock Experiment Demonstrates That Your Head is Older Than Your Feet

September 28, 2010

Scientists have long known that time passes faster at higher elevations—a curious aspect of Einstein's theories of relativity that previously has been measured...

NIST Pair of Aluminum Atomic Clocks Reveal Einstein's Relativity at a Personal Scale

September 23, 2010

BOULDER, Colo. – Scientists have known for decades that time passes faster at higher elevations—a curious aspect of Einstein's theories of relativity that...

Yikes! NIST Sensor Measures Yoctonewton Forces Fast

August 31, 2010

Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have used a small crystal of ions (electrically charged atoms) to detect forces at the...

Glasperlenspiel: NIST Scientists Propose New Test for Gravity

August 31, 2010

A new experiment proposed by physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) may allow researchers to test the effects of gravity with...

Novel Ion Trap with Optical Fiber Could Link Atoms and Light in Quantum Networks

July 6, 2010

Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have demonstrated an ion trap with a built-in optical fiber that collects light emitted...

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