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Have you heard of foldable smartphones? How about the flexible television screen that rolls up into a box? Or the ultrathin “wallpaper” TVs that are just...
Silicon, the best-known semiconductor, is ubiquitous in electronic devices including cellphones, laptops and the electronics in cars. Now, researchers at the...
Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have discovered a surprising feature in two-dimensional (2D) magnets, a new class of...
Someday, doctors would like to grow limbs and other body tissue for soldiers who have lost arms in battle, children who need a new heart or liver, and many...
Last week, scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the United...
When Jorge Campbell, an engineer from Argentina’s National Institute of Industrial Technology (INTI), visited the National Institute of Standards and Technology...
Question: How many measurement scientists does it take to screw in an LED lightbulb? Answer: For researchers at the National Institute of Standards and...
Video by: Jennifer Lauren Lee/NIST. Animations: Sean Kelley/NIST. Music: Blue Dot Sessions. Photos: Bruce Johnson and Jay Hendricks/NIST For the last 30 years...
In collaboration with industry, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have completed the first real-world test of a...
On its surface, the work is deceptively simple: Shoot a high-power laser beam onto a piece of metal for a fraction of a second and see what happens. But...
In collaboration with industry, researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have made the first portable prototype of the Fixed...
When are two nominally identical kilogram masses no longer identical? When each goes to a different place and adsorbs varying amounts of moisture and...
Lasers play roles in many manufacturing processes, from welding car parts to crafting engine components with 3D printers.* To control these tasks, manufacturers...
When a jackhammer starts pounding outside your window at 7 o’clock on a Monday morning, you might find it annoying. For the worker who is running that...
Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have been developing a novel way of measuring laser power. Their device, called the...
At the heart of every electronic weighing instrument is a device called a load cell, which takes a mechanical force and turns it into an electronic signal...
Smokestacks at coal-fired power plants have sensors that continuously monitor their emissions by measuring the flow of gases such as carbon dioxide, mercury...
The National Institute of Standard and Technology (NIST) is home to one of the most sensitive machines in the world for measuring objects’ dimensions...
Studio photographers may be familiar with the 1,000-watt quartz halogen lamps known as “FELs.” Scientists use them too—specially calibrated ones, at least—to...
The “inconstant moon,” as Shakespeare called it in Romeo and Juliet, is more reliable than his pair of star-crossed lovers might have thought. Now researchers...
If you’re worried about carbon monoxide poisoning, you might purchase a detector for your home. But what if your house itself could sense carbon monoxide and...
The world-class clean room in the NIST Boulder Microfabrication Facility (BMF) has just gotten a bit more crowded – in a good way. Staff members have recently...
3D printing of metal objects is a booming industry, with the market for products and services worth more than an estimated $2.3 billion in 2015 – a nearly five...
For industry and government labs to ensure their pressure-measurement machines are working correctly, they need a reliable source of pressure. Often, that...
Semiconductors are the cornerstone of modern electronics. They’re used in solar cells, light emitting diodes (LEDs), microprocessors in laptops and cell phones...