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Physics

News and Updates

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JILA Team Demonstrates 'A New Way of Lasing': A 'Superradiant' Laser

April 4, 2012

BOULDER, Colo. – Physicists at JILA have demonstrated a novel "superradiant" laser design, which has the potential to be 100 to 1,000 times more stable than the

NIST/CU 'Star Comb' Joins Quest for Earthlike Planets

March 6, 2012

If there is life on other planets, a laser frequency comb developed at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) may help find it. Such a comb—a

NIST Measurements May Help Optimize Organic Solar Cells

March 6, 2012

Organic solar cells may be a step closer to market because of measurements taken at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the U.S. Naval

The 2012 participants, from left: David Newell of PML, Jacques Liard of NRCan, Dave Inglis of NRS, Jason Silliker of NRCan, and Mark Eckl of NOAA.

The Great Gravity Showdown

February 27, 2012

During the week of February 6-10, 2012, some extremely weighty matters were in progress at NIST's non-magnetic facility, where PML researchers hosted an

NIST Reveals Switching Mechanism in Promising Computer Memory Device

February 21, 2012

Sometimes knowing that a new technology works is not enough. You also must know why it works to get marketplace acceptance. New information from the National

Unusual 'Collapsing' Iron Superconductor Sets Record for Its Class

February 7, 2012

A team from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Maryland has found an iron-based superconductor that operates at the

Illustration showing the laser pulses being emitted, the pulses striking the greenhouse gases, and the backscattered photons returning.

Progress and Promise in DIAL LIDAR

February 6, 2012

For climatologists and environmental policy makers who need to determine the flux of greenhouse gases (GHG), there are three paramount questions: Where is it

New Colors: JILA Scientists Confirm First 'Frequency Comb' to Probe Ultraviolet Wavelengths

February 1, 2012

Physicists at JILA have created the first "frequency comb" in the extreme ultraviolet band of the spectrum, high-energy light less than 100 nanometers (nm) in

NIST Requests Funding Proposals for Projects in Precision Measurement

December 6, 2011

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is soliciting proposals for the next round of funding in its long-running Precision Measurement Grant

Original NIST Campus in D.C. Designated 'Physics Historic Site'

November 22, 2011

The American Physical Society (APS) has designated the original campus of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) as a Physics Historic Site

APS Honors 'Historic Site' of NBS Physics Discovery

November 14, 2011

The American Physical Society (APS) has named the location of a 1956 breakthrough by NBS scientists as an "historic site." The lab in which NBS researchers

NIST Physicists Chip Away at Mystery of Antimatter Imbalance

November 8, 2011

Why there is stuff in the universe—more properly, why there is an imbalance between matter and antimatter—is one of the long-standing mysteries of cosmology. A

Redefining the SI Base Units

November 2, 2011

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

Future 'Comb on a Chip': NIST's Compact Frequency Comb Could Go Places

October 25, 2011

Laser frequency combs—extraordinarily precise tools for measuring frequencies (or colors) of light—have helped propel advances in timekeeping, trace gas

Quantum Computer Components 'Coalesce' to 'Converse'

October 25, 2011

If quantum computers are ever to be realized, they likely will be made of different types of parts that will need to share information with one another, just

NIST Measures Key Property of Potential 'Spintronic' Material

October 19, 2011

An advanced material that could help bring about next-generation "spintronic" computers has revealed one of its fundamental secrets to a team of scientists from

Traveling SIRCUS Tests Satellite Sensors

October 3, 2011

For NASA's Earth Observing System satellite fleet, sensor failure is not an option. The nation depends critically on the data from those satellites, orbiting

NIST Gets HIP: a New method for testing optical imaging sensors

October 3, 2011

A new type of scene projector in development at PML will enable the performance of future optical and infrared imaging instruments to be evaluated by having

Reading Between the Lines in Lithium: New measurements of unprecedented accuracy resolve a longstanding data disagreement problem

October 3, 2011

A team of PML researchers has solved a longstanding problem plaguing experimental tests of the atomic theory of lithium, and in the process uncovered a