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Taking Measure Blog Posts

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Displaying 51 - 57 of 57

The Saga of the Bird-Brained Bombers

August 29, 2017

Keith Martin

During World War II, NIST was among those working intensely to develop guided weapons to help the Allies win the war. But before the advent of satellites and GPS, laser targeting or even radar, how would one guide a bomb? Why, trained pigeons, of course. ‘Stupid’ bomb Air bombs of that era were

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

August 25, 2017

Jason Stoughton

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 Gaithersburg, Maryland, campus. NIST researchers meeting up after work during the holidays is a common occurrence, but this particular group

‘W’eird Signals: Listening in on the Eclipse

August 15, 2017

Jill Nelson

Two years ago, I had never heard of the WWVB radio station. Today, it’s one of my favorites, but that’s not because it broadcasts a pleasant mix of Top 40 hits. (It doesn’t.) WWVB is a low-frequency station, operated by NIST, that provides precise time information to radio-controlled clocks across

More Power to You, Wonder Woman!

June 16, 2017

Ms. Ampere

First, let me say that I’m totally energized by the good press my dear acquaintance Wonder Woman has been receiving lately. It’s absolutely electrifying to see a strong woman get good publicity! And she has done some wonderful things, what with defending the world from evil-doers and all. Maybe with

Unidentified Museum Objects, Vol. I

June 14, 2017

Fran Webber

Right now, the NIST museum in Gaithersburg, Maryland, is displaying a glass globe the size of a large beach ball. When visitors first come upon it, they’re not sure what to make of it. Is it a giant lightbulb? A highly impractical fishbowl? Thankfully, they can quickly quench their curiosity by

Connected gray boxes with x's at each intersection of red and yellow and yellow arrow across the design

Revolution by Design: The Materials Genome Initiative

August 17, 2016

Jim Warren

The creation of a new material has long been either an accident or a matter of trial and error. Steel, for instance, was developed over hundreds of years by people who didn’t know why what they were doing worked (or didn’t work). Generations of blacksmiths observed that iron forged in charcoal was

Ida Rhodes and the Problem with ‘Water Goats’

March 16, 2016

Katie Rapp

As a professional reference librarian and amateur history buff at NIST, I have had the opportunity to become acquainted with all kinds of extraordinary individuals. In particular, I have been struck by the number of women who made important contributions to the development of the earliest electronic

Electronics

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