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Physical Measurement Laboratory

Time and Frequency Division

News and Updates

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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...

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...

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...

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...

O'Brian Named Director of NIST Boulder Laboratories

October 26, 2006

Thomas R. O'Brian, chief of the Time and Frequency Division at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), has been appointed director of the...

The NIST process for "purifying" an unusual property of quantum physics called entanglement involves illuminating two pairs of beryllium ions (charged atoms) with a series of ultraviolet laser pulses.

NIST Physicists Boost 'Entanglement' of Atom Pairs

October 18, 2006

BOULDER, Colo.—Physicists at the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have taken a significant step toward transforming...

Small, Low-noise Oscillator May Help in Surveillance

September 14, 2006

A new design for a microwave oscillator that is smaller, simpler, and produces clearer signals at a single frequency than comparable devices has been invented...

NIST physicist Jim Bergquist with the mercury ion clock

Mercury Atomic Clock Keeps Time with Record Accuracy

July 14, 2006

BOULDER, COLO.—An experimental atomic clock based on a single mercury atom is now at least five times more precise than the national standard clock based on a...

Enjoy New Year's Eve a Second Longer!

December 22, 2005

You can toot your New Year's horn an extra second this year, say physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Along with the rest of...

NIST Physicists Coax Six Atoms into Quantum 'Cat' State

November 30, 2005

BOULDER, Colo. – Scientists at the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have coaxed six atoms into spinning together in...

New Guide Is Timely for Radio Controlled Clocks, Watches

August 10, 2005

Got the correct time? Radio controlled clocks and watches that automatically synchronize to official U.S. time provided by the National Institute of Standards...

Compact JILA System Stabilizes Laser Frequency

July 26, 2005

A compact, inexpensive method for stabilizing lasers that uses a new design to reduce sensitivity to vibration and gravity 100 times better than similar...

This colorized image shows the fluorescence from three trapped beryllium ions illuminated with an ultraviolet laser beam.

NIST Demonstrates Key Step in Use of Quantum Computers for Code-Breaking

May 12, 2005

Boulder, Colo.—A crucial step in a procedure that could enable future quantum computers to break today's most commonly used encryption codes has been...

'Metal-Decorated' Nanotubes Hold Promise for Fuel Cells

May 3, 2005

New quantum calculations and computer models show that carbon nanotubes "decorated" with titanium or other transition metals can latch on to hydrogen molecules...

Photo of the NIST chip-scale magnetometer

Tiny, Atom-based Detector Senses Weak Magnetic Fields

January 5, 2005

A low-power, magnetic sensor about the size of a grain of rice that can detect magnetic field changes as small as 50 picoteslas—a million times weaker than the...

Chip-Scale Magnetic Sensor Draws on Mini Clock Design

December 29, 2004

A low-power, magnetic sensor about the size of a grain of rice that can detect magnetic field changes as small as 50 picoteslas—a million times weaker than the...

David Wineland and Dietrich Leibfried wear goggles and stand in front of equipment

NIST Demonstrates Data 'Repair Kit' for Quantum Computers

December 1, 2004

A practical method for automatically correcting data-handling errors in quantum computers has been developed and demonstrated by physicists at the National...

NIST Unveils Chip-Scale Atomic Clock

August 27, 2004

The heart of a minuscule atomic clock—believed to be 100 times smaller than any other atomic clock—has been demonstrated by scientists at the Commerce...

David Wineland leans over a table of lasers to adjust a laser beam

NIST Demonstrates 'Teleportation' of Atomic States for Quantum Computing

June 16, 2004

Physicists at the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have demonstrated "teleportation" by transferring key properties...

NIST Helps Ensure Well-Timed Sledding at Winter Olympics

January 2, 2002

Sliding down the icy side of a mountain on steel runners, racers in the bobsled, luge and skeleton events reach some of the highest speeds of any Olympic Winter...

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