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Physical Measurement Laboratory

News and Updates

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NIST’s Quantum Logic Clock Returns to Top Performance

July 15, 2019

The quantum logic clock—perhaps best known for showing you age faster if you stand on a stool—has climbed back to the leading performance echelons of the world

Woman with reddish hair and wearing a pink sweater and laser safety glasses reaching over an instrument table and holding a card used to path of lasers.

NIST’s Compact Atomic Gyroscope Displays New Twists

July 11, 2019

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have upgraded their compact atomic gyroscope to enable multitasking measurement

No Longer Under Pressure: NIST Dismantles Giant Mercury Manometer

June 28, 2019

Video by: Jennifer Lauren Lee/NIST. Animations: Sean Kelley/NIST. Music: Blue Dot Sessions. Photos: Bruce Johnson and Jay Hendricks/NIST For the last 30 years

NIST Presents First Real-World Test of New Smokestack Emissions Sensor Designs

June 26, 2019

In collaboration with industry, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have completed the first real-world test of a

Diagram of a flat surface with orange squares on either side and red and blue stripes in between, with a white ball hovering over a red stripe.

NIST Team Supersizes ‘Quantum Squeezing’ to Measure Ultrasmall Motion

June 20, 2019

Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have harnessed the phenomenon of “quantum squeezing” to amplify and measure trillionths

A Bubbly New Way to Detect the Magnetic Fields of Nanometer-Scale Particles

June 10, 2019

As if they were bubbles expanding in a just-opened bottle of champagne, tiny circular regions of magnetism can be rapidly enlarged to provide a precise method

Table covered with lenses and other optical equipment, and a flat screen mounted high in the background showing a yellow squiggly line across the top and a spiky orange line below.

NIST Infrared Frequency Comb Measures Biological Signatures

June 7, 2019

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and collaborators have demonstrated a compact frequency-comb apparatus that rapidly

NIST Physicists ‘Teleport’ Logic Operation Between Separated Ions

May 30, 2019

Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have teleported a computer circuit instruction known as a quantum logic operation

Square gray cube with two square holes in it and a gold square in between the holes, and a dark brown coffee bean leaning against the cube.

NIST Team Demonstrates Heart of Next-Generation Chip-Scale Atomic Clock

May 17, 2019

Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and partners have demonstrated an experimental, next-generation atomic clock—ticking at

JQI Researchers Shed New Light on Atomic ‘Wave Function’

May 16, 2019

Physicists have demonstrated a new way to obtain the essential details that describe an isolated quantum system, such as a gas of atoms, through direct

Precise Temperature Measurements with Invisible Light

May 6, 2019

Ordinarily, you won’t encounter a radiation thermometer until somebody puts one in your ear at the doctor’s office or you point one at your forehead when you’re

Sculpting Super-Fast Light Pulses: NIST Nanopillars Shape Light Precisely for Practical Applications

May 2, 2019

Imagine being able to shape a pulse of light in any conceivable manner—compressing it, stretching it, splitting it in two, changing its intensity or altering

NIST Research Sparks New Insights on Laser Welding

April 30, 2019

On its surface, the work is deceptively simple: Shoot a high-power laser beam onto a piece of metal for a fraction of a second and see what happens. But

EBIT’s Improved X-ray Vision Promises Astronomical Insights

April 25, 2019

Look at an astronomical marvel like the Cat’s Eye Nebula at right, with an average gas temperature about twice as hot as the surface of the Sun. It seems

Building a Better Lithium Ion Source to Build a Better FIB

April 22, 2019

Eight years ago, NIST researchers developed a groundbreaking microscope that uses a narrow beam of low-energy lithium ions, rather than a beam of light or

Researchers Explore Energy-saving Catalysts that Operate at Room Temperature

April 15, 2019

NIST researchers have explored in unprecedented detail a new breed of catalysts that allow some chemical reactions, which normally require high heat, to proceed

Three-dimensional rope the color of Candy Corn snaking across the field of view, with an inset close-up of a small piece showing a twisted ladder shape

JILA’s 5-Minute Sample Processing Enhances DNA Imaging and Analysis

April 8, 2019

JILA scientists have developed a fast, simple sample preparation method that enhances imaging of DNA to better analyze its physical properties and interactions

NIST Researchers Boost Intensity of Nanowire LEDs

March 21, 2019

Nanowire gurus at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have made ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that, thanks to a special type of

a CT scanner with technician and patient

New X-ray Measurement Approach Could Improve CT Scanners

March 1, 2019

A new measurement approach proposed by scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) could lead to a better way to calibrate computed

FLOC Takes Flight: First Portable Prototype of Photonic Pressure Sensor

February 25, 2019

In collaboration with industry, researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have made the first portable prototype of the Fixed

Avoiding the Crack of Doom

February 25, 2019

Just as a journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step, the deformations and fractures that cause catastrophic failure in materials begin with a few

Entangling Photons of Different Colors

February 25, 2019

Some of the most advanced communication systems now under development rely on the properties of quantum science to store and transport information. However

Diffuse image of molecules flying through space, with each molecule made of one reddish sphere connected to a smaller blue sphere

JILA Researchers Make Coldest Quantum Gas of Molecules

February 21, 2019

JILA researchers have made a long-lived, record-cold gas of molecules that follow the wave patterns of quantum mechanics instead of the strictly particle nature

NIST Physicists ‘Flash-freeze’ Crystal of 150 Ions

February 20, 2019

Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have “flash-frozen” a flat crystal of 150 beryllium ions (electrically charged atoms)

Man in goggles standing next to and looking into a large box with open lid showing what appears to be electrical equipment and wiring inside

NIST ‘Astrocomb’ Opens New Horizons for Planet-Hunting Telescope

February 19, 2019

The hunt for Earth-like planets, and perhaps extraterrestrial life, just got more precise, thanks to record-setting starlight measurements made possible by a

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