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Search News by Chad Boutin

Displaying 176 - 200 of 555

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

student wearing helmet with multi-colored wires

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

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

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

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

NIST Creates Fundamentally Accurate Quantum Thermometer

March 15, 2016

Better thermometers might be possible as a result of a discovery at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), where physicists have found a way

New Tool for Breast Cancer Screening

March 14, 2016

A little over three years ago, NIST scientist Katy Keenan came back from a conference with an ambitious idea: to improve the quality of magnetic resonance

Getting Hyperspectral Imaging Ready for the Rain Forest

February 24, 2016

Hyperspectral images allow humans to see what otherwise might be invisible. Unlike ordinary cameras, which record information in each of three broad color bands

Better Accuracy Out of Thin (or Thick) Air

February 17, 2016

NIST scientists have devised and improved a prototype instrument the size of a loaf of bread that can substantially increase the accuracy of length measurements

Shedding Light on Dark Matter with SQUIDs

February 16, 2016

Perhaps fortunately, most folks haven't noticed that 85% of the Milky Way is missing: The kind of familiar, ordinary matter we know – made up of protons

Renovating Spaces and Preserving Places with Lasers

February 10, 2016

When you want to preserve a place or enhance a space, sometimes the best approach is to take a laser to it. Not a cosmetic surgeon's scalpel, or a sci-fi

Quantum Information Transfer: From Microwaves to Motion to Light

January 28, 2016

When a long-awaited quantum information network finally arrives, in whatever form, it will incorporate two essential technologies: a method of generating and

NIST Requests Comments on Computer Security Publication on Randomness

January 27, 2016

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is seeking public comment on its latest draft of a publication intended to help computer security

HID Lamps: Getting Brighter Faster

January 6, 2016

NIST has been issued a patent for a novel method to improve the performance and utility of the sort of high-intensity discharge (HID) lamps used for stadium and

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