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News and Updates

Displaying 26 - 50 of 59

Supercomputing: Probing the Future

NIST scientists have developed a novel automated probe system for evaluating the performance of computer components designed to run 100 times faster than today

Minimizing Uncertainty in Current Events

The electrical power industry – and the equipment makers and calibration laboratories that serve it – need to be able to quantify DC currents of hundreds or

1000 Calibration Reports . . . And Counting

The U.S. Internet – and indeed any communication system that sends information by fiber-optic cable – depends critically on strong, clear signals propagating

Enriched Silicon: Going for Four Nines

Any eventual quantum computer, no matter how it may be configured, will need a way to store and manipulate information in qubits – the quantum counterpart of a

Coming Soon: Tabletop Molecular Movies

One of the most urgently sought-after goals in modern science is the ability to observe the detailed dynamics of chemical reactions as they happen – that is, on

The First Controllable Atom SQUID

Scientists have created the first controllable atomic circuit that functions analogously to a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) and allows

New Boulder Clean Room Open for Business

After months of construction, installation, troubleshooting, and testing, the new clean room at NIST's Precision Measurement Laboratory complex on the Boulder

Laser Radiometry: Powering Up

"If you made a long distance phone call or sent an email today, or if you're wearing clothes, then you are benefiting directly from our laser services," says

Looking At and Into the Ultra-Small

NIST is taking a huge step into the ultra-small with the Precision Imaging Facility (PIF) now being outfitted in new Precision Measurement Laboratory on the

First, Fast, and Faster

Scientists in PML's Quantum Measurement Division have produced the first superluminal light pulses made by using a technique called four-wave mixing, creating

Bright Future for GaN Nanowires

The gallium nitride nanowires grown by PML scientists may only be a few tenths of a micrometer in diameter, but they promise a very wide range of applications

Adding Up Photons with a TES

Scientists have demonstrated that a superconducting detector called a transition edge sensor (TES) is capable of counting the number of as many as 1,000 photons

Redefining the SI Base Units

Note: Much more recent information is available about redefinition of the SI units. For a comprehensive general overview, see How to Weigh Everything from