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Nearly every modern cellphone has a built-in compass, or magnetometer, that detects the direction of Earth’s magnetic field, providing critical information for
Devices that capture the brilliant light from millions of quantum dots, including chip-scale lasers and optical amplifiers, have made the transition from
Chip-based devices known as frequency combs, which measure the frequency of light waves with unparalleled precision, have revolutionized time keeping, the
Perched atop a high plateau in Chile’s Atacama Desert, a long-awaited observatory is beginning to take shape: the largest suite of ground-based telescopes
Researchers have created a prototype quantum computer with a record number of qubits—the analog of bits in an ordinary computer—capable of performing logical
Microscopic magnetic probes that change shape in response to their environment may greatly enhance magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). However, producing the
In research, sometimes the bumpy path proves to be the best one. By creating tiny, periodic bumps in a miniature racetrack for light, researchers at the
Entanglement—a uniquely quantum phenomenon that intimately links the fate of subatomic particles even if they reside on opposite sides of the galaxy—is a key
Researchers at NIST and their colleagues have built a superconducting camera containing 400,000 pixels — 400 times more than any other device of its type.
A single-atom-thick sheet of carbon known as graphene has remarkable properties on its own, but things can get even more interesting when you stack up multiple
Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have devised a photonic circuit on a chip that transforms a single incoming beam of
Physicist Jun Ye has a knack for making every second count—literally. At JILA, a joint research institute of the University of Colorado and the National
Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have fabricated a novel device that could dramatically boost the conversion of heat
A groundbreaking new image taken by the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) in Chile reveals the most detailed map ever taken of the distribution of dark matter
Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed chip-scale devices for simultaneously manipulating the color, focus
In the Lilliputian world of nanofabrication, where billions of microscopic circuit elements are sculpted or imprinted on a fingernail-sized silicon chip
Researchers at NIST have developed a new — and sound — way to accurately measure the rate at which gas flows in and out of a vessel. The technique, which uses
In two new studies, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have greatly improved the efficiency and power output of a series
The ability to transmit and manipulate the smallest unit of light, the photon, with minimal loss, plays a pivotal role in optical communications as well as
For decades, astronomers and physicists have been trying to solve one of the deepest mysteries about the cosmos: An estimated 85% of its mass is missing.
Each year, hundreds of meteorites — rocky bodies left over from the formation of the solar system — bombard Earth, delivering minerals, metals and water to our
Defective computer chips are the bane of the semiconductor industry. Even a seemingly minor flaw in a chip packed with billions of electrical connections might
Trapped in a microscopic cage made of strands of DNA, molecules of a life-saving drug course through the bloodstream of a cancer patient. Only when receptors on