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Physical Measurement Laboratory

Quantum Physics Division

News and Updates

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JILA Unveils Improved 'Molecular Fingerprinting' for Trace Gas Detection

October 13, 2010

Scientists at JILA and collaborators have demonstrated an improved laser-based "molecular fingerprinting" technique that picks out traces of key hydrogen

JILA Frequency Comb System Detects Gas Impurities to Aid Semiconductor Manufacturing

August 3, 2010

Purity of ingredients is a constant concern for the semiconductor industry, because a mere trace of contaminants can damage or ruin tiny devices. In a step

illustration of infrared laser light heating bathtub water

Some Like It Hot: How to Heat a 'Nano Bathtub' the JILA Way

July 21, 2010

Researchers at JILA have demonstrated the use of infrared laser light to quickly and precisely heat the water in "nano bathtubs"—tiny sample containers—for

JILA Team Finds New Parallel Between Cold Gases and 'Hot' Superconductors

July 6, 2010

Scientists at JILA, working with Italian theorists, have discovered another notable similarity between ultracold atomic gases and high-temperature

NIST/JILA 'Dark Pulse Laser' Produces Bursts of ... Almost Nothing

June 9, 2010

In an advance that sounds almost Zen, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and JILA, a joint institute of NIST and the

It's Electrifying: JILA Scientists Use Electric Fields to Control Chemical Reactions of Ultracold Molecules

April 28, 2010

BOULDER, Colo. - Physicists at JILA have demonstrated a new tool for controlling ultracold gases and ultracold chemistry: electric fields. As described in the

Seeing the Quantum in Chemistry: JILA Scientists Control Chemical Reactions of Ultracold Molecules

February 11, 2010

Physicists at JILA have for the first time observed chemical reactions near absolute zero, demonstrating that chemistry is possible at ultralow temperatures and

The gold posts in this colorized micrograph, averaging 450 nanometers in diameter, are used to anchor individual biomolecules such as DNA for studies of their mechanical properties.

Nonstick and Laser-safe Gold Aids Laser Trapping of Biomolecules

June 16, 2009

Biophysicists long for an ideal material—something more structured and less sticky than a standard glass surface—to anchor and position individual biomolecules

Photo of NIST physicist Jun Ye with his strontium atomic clock

JILA/NIST Scientists Get a Grip on Colliding Fermions to Enhance Atomic Clock Accuracy

April 16, 2009

BOULDER, Colo.—Physicists have measured and controlled seemingly forbidden collisions between neutral strontium atoms—a class of antisocial atoms known as

NIST Physicist Deborah Jin to Receive Sigma Xi's Top Honor

January 27, 2009

Physicist Deborah S. Jin, a Fellow of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and JILA, a joint institute of NIST and the University of

JILA Story Makes Physics 'Top Ten' List

December 23, 2008

The creation of the first high-density gas of ultracold molecules by scientists at JILA, a joint institute of the National Institute of Standards and Technology

First Tunable, 'Noiseless' Amplifier May Boost Quantum Computing, Communications

October 14, 2008

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and JILA, a joint institute of NIST and the University of Colorado (CU) at Boulder

JILA Scientists Create First Dense Gas of Ultracold 'Polar' Molecules

September 18, 2008

Scientists at JILA, a joint institute of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Colorado at Boulder (CU-Boulder), have

New Technique Reveals Hidden Properties of Ultracold Atomic Gases

August 6, 2008

Physicists at JILA, a joint institute of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Colorado at Boulder, have demonstrated

Skipping Atomic-scale Stones to Study Some Chemistry Basics

August 6, 2008

Thought experiment: a carbon dioxide molecule--think of a cheerleader's baton--comes slanting in at high speed over a dense liquid, strikes the surface and

Optical 'Frequency Comb' Can Detect the Breath of Disease

February 19, 2008

Exhale on a cold winter day and you will see the water vapor coming out of your mouth. Light up your breath with a Nobel-Prize-related tool, and you could

Collaboration Helps Make JILA Strontium Atomic Clock ‘Best in Class’

February 14, 2008

BOULDER, Colo.— A next-generation atomic clock that tops previous records for accuracy in clocks based on neutral atoms has been demonstrated by physicists at

JILA Solves Problem of Quantum Dot 'Blinking'

January 23, 2008

Quantum dots—tiny, intense, tunable sources of colorful light—are illuminating new opportunities in biomedical research, cryptography and other fields. But

JILA Finds Flaw in Model Describing DNA Elasticity

September 13, 2007

DNA, the biomolecule that provides the blueprint for life, has a lesser-known identity as a stretchy polymer. JILA scientists have found a flaw in the most

JILA Physicist is Finalist for Service to America Medal

August 30, 2007

Konrad Lehnert, a physicist at JILA, is a finalist for the 2007 Service to America medals, presented annually by the non-profit, non-partisan Partnership for

New JILA Apparatus Measures Fast Nanoscale Motions

March 16, 2007

A new nanoscale apparatus developed at JILA—a tiny gold beam whose 40 million vibrations per second are measured by hopping electrons—offers the potential for a

NIST Physicist Receives APS I.I. Rabi Prize

November 9, 2006

The American Physical Society (APS) announced last week the selection of National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) physicist Jun Ye, to receive the

"Frequency Comb" Spectroscopy Proves to be Powerful Chemical Analysis Tool

March 16, 2006

Boulder, Colo. -- Physicists at JILA have designed and demonstrated a highly sensitive new tool for real-time analysis of the quantity, structure, and dynamics

An instrument called GAMS4, originally designed and built at NIST and now located at Institut Laue Langevin in France

Einstein Was Right (Again): Experiments Confirm that E= mc²

December 21, 2005

GAITHERSBURG--Albert Einstein was correct in his prediction that E=mc 2, according to scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the

NIST Physicist Honored for Technological Innovation

October 20, 2005

NIST Fellow Jun Ye was honored Oct. 8 at the "Amazing Light: Visions for Discovery" symposium held to celebrate the 90th birthday of 1964 Nobel Laureate Charles

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