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Taking Measure

Just a Standard Blog

Metrology

NIST physicist Elizabeth Donley and Compact Atomic Clock

Keeping Time at NIST

Einstein is reported to have once said that time is what a clock measures. Some say that what we experience as time is really our experience of the phenomenon
stainless steel weights

Top NIST Images of 2018

There’s nothing quite like a captivating image to make you want to learn more. And nowhere is that more apparent than when it comes to sometimes hard-to
A wood-framed round dial face with numbers running from 0 to 35, with the 25 gradation marked in red.

Unidentified Museum Objects, Vol. III

Much like your attic, garage or basement, the NIST archives are home to quite a number of arcane objects of unclear origin and purpose. We periodically collect
sundial in NIST Gaithersburg courtyard. The gnomon, several hour markers and the word "time" are visible.

What, Then, Is Time?

When asked to contribute an essay on some aspect of timekeeping, I had a flashback to the first day of my senior year in high school in Princeton, New Jersey
Pirate flag with grave

Pirates of the Caribbean (Metric Edition)

To save his own life, Joseph Dombey had an idea. As two pirate ships surrounded the ship he was on in the Caribbean Sea in 1794, Dombey scrambled below deck
Image of a napkin that has written on it the names of researchers involved in the project and their guesses for the value of Planck's Constant

A Massive Bet: The Planck Napkin

So, a bunch of metrologists walk into a bar. In late December 2013, a group of NIST researchers met at the local watering hole across the street from NIST’s
Photo of U.S. kilogram masses

7 Ways Measurements Help You Get Around

With International Firefighters’ Day behind us and World Turtle Day looming, you might not think you’ve got time for another international day in May. But don’t
Doug Olson with an engraved meter in Paris

Measuring Up to the Task

Even though I have spent my entire professional career at NIST, until a year ago it would never have entered my mind that I would become the chief of the NIST

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About this blog

Taking Measure is the official blog of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

It provides a behind-the-scenes look at NIST’s research and programs, covering a broad range of science and technology areas. Through this blog, NIST’s researchers and staff share why they do what they do and how today’s research will lead to tomorrow’s innovations.

The views presented here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views or policies of NIST.

If you have any questions about our blog or reprint requests, please contact us at takingmeasure [at] nist.gov (takingmeasure[at]nist[dot]gov).