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Taking Measure Blog Posts

Metals

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Photo of U.S. kilogram masses

7 Ways Measurements Help You Get Around

May 19, 2017
Fran Webber
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 skip World Metrology Day, which is observed on May 20 every year—the anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of the Meter in 1875. Because
a laser cuts through a pipe

A Little Light Construction: Laser Welding in Three Acts

November 7, 2016
Brian Simonds
Welding is said to be more art than science. In part, this is a nod to the vital, skilled work that welders perform. It’s also recognition of the fact that the physics of the process is really, really difficult to understand. I joined a NIST project on laser welding about two years ago. Before this
Man in blue shirt working at computer looking at device in lab

Additive Manufacturing Equals Excitement

June 23, 2016
Jarred Heigel
I research additive manufacturing, which some people call solid freeform fabrication, but most people know as 3-D printing. Additive manufacturing covers a wide range of processes that we can use to build parts and whole structures by strategically adding material only where we need it. Building
Pennies, quarters, dimes, and nickles

Make a Mint Using Measurement Science

May 2, 2016
Richard Gates
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 or the gears of an engine, we usually think of friction as a bad thing, and often it is. Whether we’re talking about relationships or engines
John Cahn standing by blackboard smiling

My Memories of John Cahn

April 28, 2016
Dan Shechtman
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 to 2006. Cahn received the National Medal of Science in 1998 and the Kyoto Prize in Advanced Technology in 2011 . I first met John Cahn in
May with brown ponytail and safety glasses working in lab

Making a Lasting Impression on the Auto Industry

April 6, 2016
Adam Creuziger
Today in Taking Measure we asked Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) recipient Adam Creuziger a few questions about his life and work. Adam was recognized for his impact on U.S. automobile manufacturing because of his expertise in the measurement and analysis of