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Physical Measurement Laboratory

Time and Frequency Division

News and Updates

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Time Is Money: SIM Time Network Has Far-Reaching Benefits

May 25, 2010

Clocks in the Americas and the Caribbean Islands are now ticking in unison thanks to the work of the Sistema Interamericano de Metrologia (SIM), a regional...

NIST Racetrack Ion Trap is a Contender in Quantum Computing Quest

March 30, 2010

Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have built and tested a device for trapping electrically charged atoms (ions) that...

Good Times! Get to Know Your Radio-Controlled Clock

March 30, 2010

"How accurate is a radio-controlled clock?" National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) researcher Michael Lombardi asks and answers the question in a...

NIST's Second 'Quantum Logic Clock' is Now World's Most Precise Clock

February 16, 2010

Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have built an enhanced version of an experimental atomic clock based on a single...

An ion trap sitting next to a quarter to show their similar size

NIST's Second 'Quantum Logic Clock' Based on Aluminum Ion is Now World's Most Precise Clock

February 4, 2010

BOULDER, Colo.—Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have built an enhanced version of an experimental atomic clock based on a...

NIST Demonstrates 'Universal' Programmable Quantum Processor

November 17, 2009

Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have demonstrated the first "universal" programmable quantum information processor able...

NIST Demonstrates 'Universal' Programmable Quantum Processor for Quantum Computers

November 16, 2009

BOULDER, Colo.— Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have demonstrated the first "universal" programmable quantum information...

NIST, CU to Build Instrument to Help Search for Earth-like Planets

November 3, 2009

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will collaborate with the University of Colorado at Boulder (CU) to build and apply a custom laser...

Scientists Build First 'Frequency Comb' To Display Visible 'Teeth'

October 29, 2009

Finally, an optical frequency comb that visibly lives up to its name. Scientists at the University of Konstanz in Germany and the National Institute of...

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...

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...

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 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...

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