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Search News by Chad Boutin

Displaying 151 - 175 of 539

Seeing Light’s Effect on Atoms — Within Picoseconds

November 16, 2016

For the first time in a laboratory setting, NIST scientists have made stop-action x-ray measurements of the way visible light interacts with atoms and molecules

Noise, Temperature, and the New SI

November 15, 2016

NIST has recently made substantial improvements to its Johnson-noise thermometry system, which is playing a vital role in the worldwide effort to determine the

This artist’s conception imagines the proposed ring of atoms as cars on a beltway.

Atomic Beltway Could Solve Problems of Cosmic Gravity

November 14, 2016

When is a traffic jam not a traffic jam? When it's a quantum traffic jam, of course. Only in quantum physics can traffic be standing still and moving at the

NIST Collaboration Heats Up Exotic Topological Insulators

October 31, 2016

Fashion is changing in the avant-garde world of next-generation computer component materials. Traditional semiconductors like silicon are releasing their last

Move Over, Lasers: Scientists Can Now Create Holograms from Neutrons, Too

October 20, 2016

For the first time, a team including scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have used neutron beams to create holograms of

Supported by Granite, New SURF Beamline Is Real Heavyweight

September 21, 2016

If your work involves sensing, measuring or using ultraviolet light, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has great news for you: Granite

NIST Patents Single-Photon Detector for Potential Encryption and Sensing Apps

September 15, 2016

Individual photons of light now can be detected far more efficiently using a device patented by a team including the National Institute of Standards and

Crystal Unclear: Why Might This Uncanny Crystal Change Laser Design?

August 26, 2016

Laser applications may benefit from crystal research by scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and China's Shandong University

Harmful Algal Blooms in Their True Colors

August 26, 2016

Explosive growth of cyanobacteria, also called blue-green algae, is nothing new. In fact, such cyanobacteria probably produced the original oxygen in Earth's

Counting Down to the New Ampere

August 25, 2016

After it's all over, your lights will be just as bright, and your refrigerator just as cold. But very soon the ampere -- the SI base unit of electrical current

An Optical Method of Sorting Nanoparticles by Size

August 17, 2016

NIST scientists have devised and modeled a unique optical method of sorting microscopic and nanoscopic particles by size, with a resolution as fine as 1

Detecting Brain Waves with Atomic Vapor

July 26, 2016

It's really hard to hear what the brain is saying. Neural impulses -- currents of ions moving through channels between the brain's 100 billion neurons at a

This magneto-ionic thin film, made primarily of aluminum oxide, gadolinium oxide and cobalt, allows oxygen ions to travel up and down through spaces between the layers when pushed by an electric field.

NIST Reveals Valuable Fundamentals of a Stacked, Cracked Jack of All Trades

July 22, 2016

There is a crack in everything, Leonard Cohen sang; that's how the light gets in. Now a team led by scientists from the National Institute of Standards and

NIST's Newest Watt Balance Brings World One Step Closer to New Kilogram

June 21, 2016

A high-tech version of an old-fashioned balance scale at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has just brought scientists a critical step

Physicists measured something new in the radioactive decay of neutrons

June 14, 2016

A physics experiment performed at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has enhanced scientists' understanding of how free neutrons decay

NIST System Replicated by Chip Maker

June 6, 2016

A highly sensitive measurement system for the performance of nanoscale magnetic devices, invented and developed at NIST, was successfully replicated recently by

Powered by Quantum Cycles: Cold-Atom Pump

May 25, 2016

By manipulating the behavior of particles at a quantum level, scientists at the Joint Quantum Institute (JQI, a research partnership of NIST and the University

3D Laser Scanner Runoff Pushes New Standard Towards the Finish Line

May 25, 2016

Update: The work that was described in this article led to the publishing of the ASTM E3125-17 standard in December 2017. Large-volume 3D laser scanners play

Right Size + Right Chemistry = Right Stuff for Plastics Manufacturing

May 19, 2016

Plastic manufacturing is an energy-intensive process. Now, research performed in part at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has revealed

NIST Kicks Off Effort to Defend Encrypted Data from Quantum Computer Threat

April 28, 2016

If an exotic quantum computer is invented that could break the codes we depend on to protect confidential electronic information, what will we do to maintain

NIST Could Help Keep Sequestered Carbon From Blowin' in the Wind

April 20, 2016

Capturing carbon dioxide gas and storing it underground is a promising strategy for reducing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Scientists at the National

new instrument for accelerometer testing

Precision Testing for MEMS Accelerometers

April 8, 2016

They activate airbags. Keep aircraft correctly positioned in flight. Detect earthquakes or sudden vibrations in failing machinery. Guide military hardware

For Rechargeable Batteries That Crush the Competition, Crush This Material

April 1, 2016

By chemically modifying and pulverizing a promising group of compounds, scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have potentially

Improving CD-AFM Measurements from the Tip Down

March 31, 2016

As the sizes of computer chips in electronic devices continue to shrink, traditional measurement tools (e.g., microscopes utilizing visible light) are no longer

New NIST Security Standard Can Protect Credit Cards, Health Information

March 29, 2016

For many years, when you swiped your credit card, your number would be stored on the card reader, making encryption difficult to implement. Now, after nearly a