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Physics

News and Updates

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NIST Launches New Calibration Service for High-Power Lasers

October 29, 2014

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has launched a new calibration service for high-power lasers of the sort used by manufacturers for

Trouble with a Capital 'G'

October 27, 2014

NIST has taken part in a new push to address a persistent and growing problem in physics: the value of G. The Newtonian constant of gravitation, used to

New High-Resolution X-ray Spectrometer for Beam Lines

October 24, 2014

NIST scientists have pioneered a technology that may speed the arrival of long-awaited materials and devices including advanced high-temperature superconductors

Better Diagnostic Imaging for Traumatic Brain Injuries

October 23, 2014

Image-calibration technology designed and developed by scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in collaboration with the

Strengthening Thin-Film Bonds with Ultrafast Data Collection

October 17, 2014

When studying extremely fast reactions in ultrathin materials, two measurements are better than one. A new research tool invented by researchers at Lawrence

James Olthoff Named Director of NIST's Physical Measurement Laboratory

October 15, 2014

James Olthoff, a 27-year veteran of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), has been named director of the agency's Physical Measurement

NIST Laser Comb System Maps 3D Surfaces Remotely for Manufacturing, Forensics

October 7, 2014

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have demonstrated a laser-based imaging system that creates high-definition 3D maps of

NIST Quantum Probe Enhances Electric Field Measurements

October 7, 2014

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Michigan have demonstrated a technique based on the quantum

Simultaneous Imaging of Ferromagnetic and Ferroelectric Domains

October 1, 2014

An international team led by researchers from the NIST Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology have discovered a new way to simultaneously image both the

Photons by the Numbers

September 25, 2014

A NIST team is at work on what promises to be one of the world's most accurate methods for generating a specified number of photons, and has devised a method to

Calibrating Cancer Radiotherapy Beams Using Light and Sound

September 17, 2014

Doctors shrink tumors with radiation therapy, but a badly calibrated beam can cause serious complications. Scientists in NIST's Radiation Physics Division in

NIST chip containing a single-photon detector made of superconducting nanowires. Four chips like this were used in the experiment that entangled three photons.

Three's a Charm: NIST Detectors Reveal Entangled Photon Triplets

September 15, 2014

Researchers at the University of Waterloo in Canada have directly entangled three photons in the most technologically useful state for the first time, thanks in

Polonium's Most Stable Isotope Gets Revised Half-Life Measurement

September 9, 2014

Scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have determined* that polonium-209, the longest-lived isotope of this radioactive heavy

Scientists Shed Light on Organic Photovoltaic Characteristics

September 2, 2014

Photovoltaic devices, also known as solar cells, produce electrical power when exposed to light, and that technology has enabled a fast-growing industry. The

EUV Calibrations for Satellite Sensors

August 25, 2014

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

JILA Team Finds First Direct Evidence of 'Spin Symmetry' In Atoms

August 21, 2014

Just as diamonds with perfect symmetry may be unusually brilliant jewels, the quantum world has a symmetrical splendor of high scientific value. Confirming this

Scale-Model Smokestack To Study GHG Emissions Monitoring

August 15, 2014

Construction is nearly complete on one of the world's more unusual precision measurement facilities: A 50 meter horizontal smokestack located on NIST's

Beyond Six Nines: Ultra-enriched Silicon Paves the Road to Quantum Computing

August 11, 2014

Using a relatively straightforward technique, a team of NIST researchers has created what may be the most highly enriched silicon currently being produced. The

NIST Therapy for Ultraviolet Laser Beams: Hydrogen-treated Fibers

August 11, 2014

To make a better optical fiber for transmitting laser beams, the first idea that comes to mind is probably not a nice long hydrogen bath. And yet, scientists

NIST Ion Duet Offers Tunable Module for Quantum Simulator

August 6, 2014

Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have demonstrated a pas de deux of atomic ions that combines the fine choreography of

'Comb on a Chip' Powers New NIST/Caltech Atomic Clock Design

July 22, 2014

Researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have demonstrated a new design for

A phantom (life-size dummy) in the scanner

Backscatter Body Scan Redux

July 21, 2014

Airline passengers have already said bon voyage to the controversial backscatter x-ray security scanners, pulled from U.S. airports in 2013 over concerns about

New NIST Metamaterial Gives Light a One-Way Ticket

July 1, 2014

The light-warping structures known as metamaterials have a new trick in their ever-expanding repertoire. Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and

NIST researchers are gathering skin reflectance data to establish the variation found in human tissue in order to develop reference standards for hyperspectral imaging applications.

Seeing Your True Colors: Standards for Hyperspectral Imaging

July 1, 2014

Today, doctors who really want to see if a wound is healing have to do a biopsy or some other invasive technique that, besides injuring an already injured

New Math Technique Improves Atomic Property Predictions to Historic Accuracy

June 25, 2014

[This article was revised on July 23, 2014, to clarify the relationship between the work reported here and the related problem of calculating relativistic and

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