An official website of the United States government
Here’s how you know
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock (
) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.
Rapid, accurate genetic sequencing soon may be within reach of every doctor's office if recent research from the National Institute of Standards and Technology...
Life can seem haphazard and chaotic, but true randomness is fundamentally mysterious, elusive, and remarkably difficult to observe. If it can be realized and...
In living organisms, biomolecules such as proteins are constantly in complex motion, bending and flexing in different ways at different points. Each molecule...
NIST's ability to determine the composition and physics of nanoscale materials and devices is about to improve dramatically with the arrival of a new near-field...
PML researchers played a central role in the establishment of new testing and evaluation (T&E) standards for radiation and nuclear detectors about to be adopted...
With the opening of the new guide hall addition at the National Institute of Standards and Technology's Center for Neutron Research (NCNR), neutron scientists...
The world's most stable laser – with frequency variation of no more than 2 parts in 10,000 trillion – has been developed and tested by an international...
A refined method developed at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for measuring nanometer-sized objects may help computer manufacturers...
PML researchers have devised a novel source of portable sunlight that may fill an urgent need in renewable energy research – namely, light sources that generate...
Sometimes the chain of measurement traceability – the unbroken series of links between a calibrated instrument and the official NIST standard – can get pretty...
The impending redefinition of the kilogram presents a weighty dilemma. Methods to be used to realize the redefined kilogram are based on the Planck constant and...
Tests performed at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) show that a new method for splitting photon beams could overcome a fundamental...
A long-standing mystery in cell biology may be closer to a solution thanks to measurements taken at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)...
Since their discovery in 1986, high-temperature (high-Tc) superconductors have been the subject of intense interest to researchers. But the mechanism behind the...
At a time when the reliability of crime lab findings is under increasing scrutiny, PML researchers have provided law enforcement with an important new tool for...
Over the past two decades, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) have become ubiquitous, with applications in cell phones, ink-jet printers, accelerometers and...
The Smart Grid Interoperability Panel (SGIP) Governing Board voted on July 10, 2012 to support the new business sustainment plan for the SGIP. The plan outlines...
Next-generation "smart" electrical meters for residential and commercial buildings will have computerized operating systems just as laptops or mobile devices do...
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has released the second-round draft version of its updated security standard for identity credentials...
A powerful color-based imaging technique is making the jump from remote sensing to the operating room—and a team of scientists* at the National Institute of...
"If you made a long distance phone call or sent an email today, or if you're wearing clothes, then you are benefiting directly from our laser services," says...
NIST is taking a huge step into the ultra-small with the Precision Imaging Facility (PIF) now being outfitted in new Precision Measurement Laboratory on the...
Quantum computers are still years away, but a trio of theorists has already figured out at least one talent they may have. According to the theorists, including...
Peter Huang of the Sensor Science Division's Temperature and Humidity group has devised a new humidity generator that enables dew-point measurements up to 98 °C...
In the vacuum business, less is more—except when it comes to accuracy. Industries that depend on high-quality, carefully monitored vacuum for sensitive...