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Physics

News and Updates

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Counting Down to the New Ampere

August 25, 2016

After it's all over, your lights will be just as bright, and your refrigerator just as cold. But very soon the ampere -- the SI base unit of electrical current

Measuring Tiny Forces with Light

August 24, 2016

Photons are bizarre: They have no mass, but they do have momentum. And that allows researchers to do counterintuitive things with photons, such as using light

NIST's compact gyroscope measures rotation by analyzing patterns of interfering matter waves in an expanding cloud of atoms transitioning between two energy states.

NIST's Compact Gyroscope May Turn Heads

August 23, 2016

Shrink rays may exist only in science fiction, but similar effects are at work in the real world at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

Gebbie, Physics Visionary and Mentor to Nobel Laureates, Dies at 84

August 18, 2016

Katharine Blodgett Gebbie, a visionary physicist and senior government research administrator who supervised and mentored four Nobel laureates in physics, died

An Optical Method of Sorting Nanoparticles by Size

August 17, 2016

NIST scientists have devised and modeled a unique optical method of sorting microscopic and nanoscopic particles by size, with a resolution as fine as 1

Realizing the Potential of Quantum Information Science and Advancing High-Performance Computing

July 27, 2016

The White House announced today a new report from the National Science and Technology Council on challenges, opportunities and the path forward in quantum

student wearing helmet with multi-colored wires

Detecting Brain Waves with Atomic Vapor

July 26, 2016

It's really hard to hear what the brain is saying. Neural impulses -- currents of ions moving through channels between the brain's 100 billion neurons at a

NIST's Newest Watt Balance Brings World One Step Closer to New Kilogram

June 21, 2016

A high-tech version of an old-fashioned balance scale at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has just brought scientists a critical step

Physicists measured something new in the radioactive decay of neutrons

June 14, 2016

A physics experiment performed at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has enhanced scientists' understanding of how free neutrons decay

NIST's Super Quantum Simulator 'Entangles' Hundreds of Ions

June 9, 2016

Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have "entangled" or linked together the properties of up to 219 beryllium ions (charged

NIST System Replicated by Chip Maker

June 6, 2016

A highly sensitive measurement system for the performance of nanoscale magnetic devices, invented and developed at NIST, was successfully replicated recently by

Million-Pound Deadweight Machine Officially Open for Business

June 2, 2016

The last few bolts were tightened just weeks ago – by hand. Now fully restored, NIST's 4.45 meganewton (one million pounds-force) deadweight machine – the

SF6 Shows Promise as Mercury Substitute

May 27, 2016

Elemental mercury – which is being phased out of commercial thermometers worldwide due to safety concerns – may also be replaced as a temperature reference

Powered by Quantum Cycles: Cold-Atom Pump

May 25, 2016

By manipulating the behavior of particles at a quantum level, scientists at the Joint Quantum Institute (JQI, a research partnership of NIST and the University

Right Size + Right Chemistry = Right Stuff for Plastics Manufacturing

May 19, 2016

Plastic manufacturing is an energy-intensive process. Now, research performed in part at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has revealed

This JILA instrument uses a frequency comb to detect large, complex molecules based on the precise frequencies, or colors, of light they absorb.

JILA Extends Laser 'Combing' Method to Identify Large, Complex Molecules

May 4, 2016

BOULDER, Colo. – JILA physicists have extended the capability of their powerful laser "combing" technique to identify the structures of large, complex molecules

New Chip-Based Sensor Finds Power in Versatility

April 26, 2016

Whether you're using a landline or cell phone, there's a good chance that the signal spends at least some time traveling over fiber-optic cables. To ensure that

NIST's Million-Pound Weight Stack Restoration is Complete

April 25, 2016

It's official: NIST's 4.45-million newton (equivalent to one million pounds-force) deadweight machine – the largest in the world – is back in one piece after a

Optical Clocks Synched to Femtoseconds -- Through the Air

April 21, 2016

NIST researchers have devised a way to synchronize the time of two different clocks – separated by as much as 4 km of open, turbulent air – to within a few

Head to Head: Photonic Pressure Sensors vs. Mercury-Based Standard

April 21, 2016

When a team of researchers at NIST's Physical Measurement Laboratory (PML) first tested a new kind of pressure sensor two years ago, initial results showed it

False-color scanning electron micrograph of a nanophotonic frequency converter

New Nanodevice Shifts Light's Color at Single-Photon Level

April 18, 2016

Converting a single photon from one color, or frequency, to another is an essential tool in quantum communication, which harnesses the subtle correlations

new instrument for accelerometer testing

Precision Testing for MEMS Accelerometers

April 8, 2016

They activate airbags. Keep aircraft correctly positioned in flight. Detect earthquakes or sudden vibrations in failing machinery. Guide military hardware

Newly Patented NIST Technique Creates Precisely Sized Nanocontainers Useful for Drug Delivery

April 7, 2016

What if doctors could deliver anti-cancer drugs directly to tumors without making patients sick? Bringing this dream of targeted drug delivery closer to reality

Neutron Microscope: Waiting for the Lens to Come

March 30, 2016

When the world's first workhorse neutron microscope – currently being designed and built by a collaboration including NIST's Physical Measurement Laboratory

NIST Develops First Widely Useful Measurement Standard for Breast Cancer MRI

March 23, 2016

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed the first widely useful standard for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of

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