U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Physical Measurement Laboratory / Sensor Science Division

Optical Radiation Group

News and Updates

Displaying 1 - 25 of 25
model graph

Solved: The Mystery of the Cloudy Filters

There’s a mystery happening in some satellites facing the Sun, and scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Laboratory...
laser setup

Seeking COVID’s Kryptonite

To disinfect a surface, you can illuminate it with a blast of ultraviolet (UV) light, which is bluer than the human eye can see. But to specifically inactivate...
petri dish

Shrinking (Ultra)Violet

While awaiting full access to their labs due to COVID-19 restrictions, scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have taken this...
Overhead view of a room full of scientific equipment

Spotlight: SURF and Solar Storms

When the surface of the Sun erupts, it emits dangerous particles that can knock out GPS and communication links on our planet, but the rain of particles from a...
Opposite sides of a quartz crystal resonator

Universe in the Balance

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have found a way to link measurements made by a device integral to microchip...
John Curry with HID lamp

HID Lamps: Getting Brighter Faster

NIST has been issued a patent for a novel method to improve the performance and utility of the sort of high-intensity discharge (HID) lamps used for stadium and...
scientists testing ocean color tile

Gauging the Hue of the Sea

The world's oceans face multiple threats, and fisheries, marine biologists, and environmental scientists need accurate and timely data about changing conditions...
Rob Vest

EUV Calibrations for Satellite Sensors

Thanks to precision calibration measurements recently performed at NIST, satellites may soon be looking at sunlight with new and improved vision. On July 22...
Yuqin Zong with LED timetime test enclosure

LEDs Get a Life Sentence

The light-emitting diode (LED) appears on track to become the light of our lives. Switching to bright, energy-efficient, durable, and environmentally friendly...
underwater view of MOBY

Seeing the Oceans in Their True Colors

Much of what is known about the state of the Earth's oceans, and how they change over time, comes from satellite monitoring of reflected and thermally emitted...
water sample

UV Ray of Hope for Safer Drinking Water

A group of researchers from PML's Sensor Science Division is part of a project that will have a direct effect on improved safety of the nation's drinking water...
Was this page helpful?