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Physics

Time & frequency

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Colorado Governor Ritter Honors NIST Internet Time Service

February 24, 2009

On Feb. 17, Governor Bill Ritter of Colorado presented the 2009 CO-LABS Governor's Awards for Research Impact to scientists from five federal research...

Wherefore a Leap Second?

December 23, 2008

The spin of the Earth is slowing down. Not by much; only about 0.002 seconds a day (it varies), relative to our modern definition of the second. The varying...

NIST Physicists are Finalists for Service to America Medals

September 16, 2008

Two physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have been named finalists for the 2008 Service to America Medals, presented by the...

Physicist David J. Wineland of NIST Boulder Laboratories in Colorado

NIST Physicist Wineland Awarded 2007 National Medal of Science

September 3, 2008

Physicist David J. Wineland of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has been awarded the 2007 National Medal of Science. Wineland, 64, was...

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...

NIST 'Quantum Logic Clock' Rivals Mercury Ion as World's Most Accurate Clock

March 6, 2008

BOULDER, Colo.—An atomic clock that uses an aluminum atom to apply the logic of computers to the peculiarities of the quantum world now rivals the world's most...

NIST Mini Sensor May 'Change the Way We Live'

March 5, 2008

Miniature magnetic sensors made at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have won a spot on Technology Review's annual list of 10...

New Strontium Atomic Clock at JILA is 'Best in Class'

February 19, 2008

A next-generation atomic clock that tops previous records for accuracy in clocks based on neutral atoms has been demonstrated by physicists at JILA, a joint...

Prototype microchip device combining NIST's miniature atomic magnetometer with a fluid channel

'NMR on a Chip' Features NIST Magnetic Mini-Sensor

February 19, 2008

A super-sensitive mini-sensor developed at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) can detect nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) in tiny samples...

NIST Radio Station WWVH Gets Antenna Makeover

January 23, 2008

Radio station WWVH in Hawaii, operated since 1948 by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to broadcast time, frequency and other...

This time code generator, built by NIST staff,

NIST Helps Beam Time to TV Viewers in the Middle East

December 12, 2007

Millions of satellite television and radio users in North Africa and the Middle East can now see and hear the precise time of day, thanks to technical...

Reminder: Turn Your Clocks Back on Sunday, November 4

October 26, 2007

Daylight Saving Time (DST) will end on Sunday, November 4, 2007, as determined by new rules implemented this year. On November 4 at 2 AM local time, clocks...

First 2D Pictures of a 'Frequency Comb' Transform It into a Brush

February 7, 2007

BOULDER, Colo.—Physicists at the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have taken the first ever two-dimensional pictures...

O'Brian Named Director of NIST Boulder Laboratories

October 26, 2006

Thomas R. O'Brian, chief of the Time and Frequency Division at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), has been appointed director of the...

The NIST process for "purifying" an unusual property of quantum physics called entanglement involves illuminating two pairs of beryllium ions (charged atoms) with a series of ultraviolet laser pulses.

NIST Physicists Boost 'Entanglement' of Atom Pairs

October 18, 2006

BOULDER, Colo.—Physicists at the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have taken a significant step toward transforming...

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...

"Frequency Comb" Spectroscopy Proves to be Powerful Chemical Analysis Tool

March 16, 2006

Boulder, Colo. -- Physicists at JILA have designed and demonstrated a highly sensitive new tool for real-time analysis of the quantity, structure, and dynamics...

Enjoy New Year's Eve a Second Longer!

December 22, 2005

You can toot your New Year's horn an extra second this year, say physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Along with the rest of...

NIST Physicists Coax Six Atoms into Quantum 'Cat' State

November 30, 2005

BOULDER, Colo. – Scientists at the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have coaxed six atoms into spinning together in...

New Guide Is Timely for Radio Controlled Clocks, Watches

August 10, 2005

Got the correct time? Radio controlled clocks and watches that automatically synchronize to official U.S. time provided by the National Institute of Standards...

Compact JILA System Stabilizes Laser Frequency

July 26, 2005

A compact, inexpensive method for stabilizing lasers that uses a new design to reduce sensitivity to vibration and gravity 100 times better than similar...

Photo of the NIST chip-scale magnetometer

Tiny, Atom-based Detector Senses Weak Magnetic Fields

January 5, 2005

A low-power, magnetic sensor about the size of a grain of rice that can detect magnetic field changes as small as 50 picoteslas—a million times weaker than the...

Chip-Scale Magnetic Sensor Draws on Mini Clock Design

December 29, 2004

A low-power, magnetic sensor about the size of a grain of rice that can detect magnetic field changes as small as 50 picoteslas—a million times weaker than the...

NIST Unveils Chip-Scale Atomic Clock

August 27, 2004

The heart of a minuscule atomic clock—believed to be 100 times smaller than any other atomic clock—has been demonstrated by scientists at the Commerce...

A Quantum Mechanical 'Tune Up' for Better Measurement

June 4, 2004

By exploiting the weird quantum behavior of atoms, physicists at the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have...

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