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Taking Measure

Just a Standard Blog

Metrology

Building a Firearms Toolmark Database

Although they are mass produced, every firearm is unique, and when fired, they leave unique markings called toolmarks on the bullet and cartridge casing. Law

Fighting Fire with Fire-Breathing Dragons

I’m a dragon wrangler. While that might sound like something straight out of Harry Potter or Game of Thrones, this isn’t fantasy, this is serious science. As a

Make a Mint Using Measurement Science

Put your hands together. Now move them back and forth to rub them against each other. Feel that heat? That’s from friction. No matter if it’s between siblings

My Memories of John Cahn

This article was written in response to the March 14, 2016, death of John Cahn , one of the world’s foremost materials scientists, who worked at NIST from 1977

Chemical Detective Hot on the Vapor Trail

Today in Taking Measure we asked Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) recipient Tara Lovestead a few questions about her life

A Slice of Math Functions for Pi Day

Happy Pi Day! No, not pie day, Pi Day. That Greek character pi, π, that you’ve heard of but aren’t quite sure what the big deal is. Pi is the ratio of a circle

Weighing My Career as a Metrologist

As happens with most every metrologist I know, I fell into metrology (the science of measurement) quite by accident. My degree was in chemical engineering, and

Happy Weights and Measures Week 2016!

Like many of you, I venture out on Saturday mornings to get groceries and gas. Until my college years, I never thought much about whether or not I paid the

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