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Physics

News and Updates

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Ocean Color System Gets a ‘Refresh,’ Allowing for More Precise and Accurate Measurements

January 3, 2023

NIST, NOAA and other partners have collaborated on an upgrade to an ocean-color sensor called the Marine Optical Buoy, or MOBY.

Reliable Flow for Chip Makers

December 13, 2022

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have begun an ambitious project to attack a vexing problem in the semiconductor

Superconducting Nanowire Single-Photon Detector

Unveiling the Universe: In 4 New Studies, NIST Explores Novel Ways to Hunt Dark Matter

December 8, 2022

For decades, astronomers and physicists have been trying to solve one of the deepest mysteries about the cosmos: An estimated 85% of its mass is missing.

Licensing Opportunities for NIST Technologies

November 18, 2022

New technologies are always invented in the labs at NIST every year. The researchers dedicate their time to discovering these new solutions to problems and

NIST’s Grid of Quantum Islands Could Reveal Secrets for Powerful Technologies

November 17, 2022

The grids provided playing fields in which electrons could behave in nearly ideal, textbook-like conditions.

Record level of radio frequency (RF) signal synthesis with quantum-based accuracy achieved

Record Level of Radio Frequency Signal Synthesis with Quantum-Based Accuracy Achieved

November 10, 2022

NIST, in collaboration with CU Boulder faculty, published a paper titled: “ RF Josephson Arbitrary Waveform Synthesizer with Integrated Superconducting

Research on the Rocks: Combining Neutrons and X-Ray Imaging, NIST Scientists Study Meteorites to Explore the Mystery of How Earth Acquired Its Water

November 3, 2022

Each year, hundreds of meteorites — rocky bodies left over from the formation of the solar system — bombard Earth, delivering minerals, metals and water to our

This Simple Material Could Scrub Carbon Dioxide From Power Plant Smokestacks

November 2, 2022

An easily synthesized chemical filter could stop the greenhouse gas from reaching the atmosphere.

Maria Munoz poses in the lab, wearing safety goggles and heavy gloves.

Spotlight: Maria Munoz’s Journey Into Spectroscopy Took Her Around the World

November 1, 2022

To reach this point, NIST postdoctoral researcher Maria Munoz journeyed across borders and seas. Take a trip with us as we trace her career path from elementary

To Break New Ground With Frequency Combs, a NIST Innovation Plays With the Beat

October 24, 2022

Breakthrough could help Nobel-winning tech measure distances and timing with a pinpoint precision limited only by the quantum nature of light.

Illustrations shows atoms connected with glowing lines inside the cylinder of the interferometer.

An Entangled Matter-Wave Interferometer: Now With Double the Spookiness!

October 20, 2022

A team of researchers at JILA has for the first time successfully combined two of the “spookiest” features of quantum mechanics to make a better quantum sensor.

NIST’s Superconducting Hardware Could Scale Up Brain-Inspired Computing

October 6, 2022

Scientists have long looked to the brain as an inspiration for designing computing systems.

Star Light, Star Bright … But Exactly How Bright?

September 22, 2022

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but for astronomers, simply recording images of stars and galaxies isn’t enough. To measure the true size and absolute

Adam Kaufman poses for a head shot with a shelf of library books in the background.

NIST Physicist Adam Kaufman Wins Breakthrough New Horizons in Physics Prize

September 22, 2022

Kaufman won for his work in advancing the control of atoms and molecules to improve atomic clocks and quantum information processing.

NIST Awards Funding to Small Businesses to Advance Technologies for COVID Response, Manufacturing, Medical Diagnostics and More

September 20, 2022

NIST has awarded more than $7 million in funding to 23 U.S. small businesses in 14 states.

Watch NIST’s ‘Atomic Television’ Live and in Color

August 17, 2022

Researchers have adapted their atom-based radio receiver to display live TV and video games.

A globe spins on a curved stand, blurring the shape of North America.

Spotlight: Keeping Time With the Earth’s Rotation

August 5, 2022

Scientists try to predict how the Earth’s rotation will change so they know how to steer the clocks in the future.

Calibrating the Universe: Behind the Scenes, NIST Scientists Play a Critical Role in Improving Gravitational Wave Measurements

August 2, 2022

Space-time ripples, exploding stars, colliding black holes …. and the National Institute of Standards and Technology? NIST doesn’t exactly come to mind when

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