Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Reference instruments

News and Updates

A Better Way to Measure Acceleration

You’re going at the speed limit down a two-lane road when a car barrels out of a driveway on your right. You slam on the brakes, and within a fraction of a

Projects and Programs

The Photoforce Project

Ongoing
High-power continuous wave lasers (also known as “high-energy” lasers) are increasingly common in manufacturing (welding, cutting, and metal additive

Precursor Material Qualification

The lack of repeatable process outcomes from additive manufacturing (AM) has been broadly acknowledged as an impediment to widespread implementation. While most

Sensing and Imaging of concealed objects

Ongoing
Emergency response , l aw enforcement and military personnel must face threats and dangerous situations as part of their jobs. These threats can vary from

Climate Science

Ongoing
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is working to advance measurement capabilities needed to study the world’s climates. Climate Science

Publications

Tools and Instruments

Large Aperture Scanner

The Large Aperture Scanner (LAS) scans a radar transceiver over a 5 meter by 20 meter aperture. Image reconstruction techniques enable a three-dimensional

Reference Ballistic Chronograph

The NIST-developed reference ballistic chronograph (RBC) provides repeatable measurements of the speed of a bullet that will impact a test article, such as