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Physics

Optical physics and communications

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Everlasting Quantum Wave: NIST Physicists Predict New Form of Soliton in Ultracold Gases

December 15, 2009

Solitary waves that run a long distance without losing their shape or dying out are a special class of waves called solitons. These everlasting waves are exotic

Scientists Build First 'Frequency Comb' To Display Visible 'Teeth'

October 29, 2009

Finally, an optical frequency comb that visibly lives up to its name. Scientists at the University of Konstanz in Germany and the National Institute of

TEDCO NIST NIH Bio-Imaging Technologies Showcase (9/2009)

October 6, 2009

A TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER AND FEDERAL MARKETPLACE EVENT TEDCO, NIST and NIH Present Bio-imaging Technologies For Commercial Adoption On Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Making a Point: Picoscale Stability in a Room-Temperature AFM

March 24, 2009

Forget dancing angels, a research team from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Colorado (CU) has shown how to

Record-setting Laser May Aid Searches for Earthlike Planets

May 13, 2008

Scientists at the University of Konstanz (Germany) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have demonstrated an ultrafast laser that

Bon MOT: Innovative Atom Trap Catches Highly Magnetic Atoms

April 1, 2008

A research team from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Maryland has succeeded in cooling atoms of a rare-earth

Loopy Photons Clarify 'Spookiness' of Quantum Physics

March 18, 2008

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Joint Quantum Institute (NIST/University of Maryland) have developed a new

NIST physicist Jim Bergquist with the mercury ion clock

Mercury Atomic Clock Keeps Time with Record Accuracy

July 14, 2006

BOULDER, COLO.—An experimental atomic clock based on a single mercury atom is now at least five times more precise than the national standard clock based on a

Enhanced LIDAR Improves Range, Vibration Measures

February 2, 2006

Scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have demonstrated the use of an ultrafast laser "frequency comb" system for improved

NIST Finds Rough Spot in Surface Measurement

July 13, 2005

For makers of computers, disk drives and other sophisticated technologies, a guiding principle is the smoother the surfaces of chips and other components, the

New NIST Method Improves Accuracy of Spectrometers

June 16, 2005

Measurements of the intensity of light at different wavelengths can be made more accurately now, thanks to a new, simple method for correcting common instrument

Satellite Measures Sun's True Power

January 27, 2003

Scientists expect to gain important information about the sun's effect on the Earth's atmosphere and climate from sophisticated instruments—all calibrated by

Wieman and Cornell Receive Benjamin Franklin Medal in Physics

January 13, 2000

Carl Wieman of the University of Colorado at Boulder and Eric Cornell of the National Institute of Standards and Technology have been awarded the 2000 Benjamin

Experiments at NIST Launch New Field of Physics: Non-Linear Atom Optics

March 17, 1999

Physicists at the Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology have opened a new field of physics with experiments demonstrating for the

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