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Physical Measurement Laboratory

News and Updates

Displaying 426 - 450 of 1488
piston gauge

A Faster Way to Calibrate Piston Gauges

For industry and government labs to ensure their pressure-measurement machines are working correctly, they need a reliable source of pressure. Often, that
Jacob Ricker

Making an Airtight Case for Freedom

President Abraham Lincoln’s first handwritten draft of the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, a historic document in the collection of the New York State
probe head

Supercomputing: Probing the Future

NIST scientists have developed a novel automated probe system for evaluating the performance of computer components designed to run 100 times faster than today
acceleration video teaser image

Measuring Acceleration with Light

Most people have never seen an accelerometer -- a device that measures change in velocity -- and wouldn’t know where to look. Yet accelerometers have become
girl with paint on face

A Standard for Lighting Color Preference?

One of the goals of artificial lighting is to make things look natural. White light can make an otherwise appetizing sandwich look like garbage, if the reds
lumber

Making Sure that Lumber Measures Up

For some, it is a shocking revelation. But most Americans eventually come to accept the fact that a “two by four” board is actually 1.5 inches by 3.5 inches (38
solitons

Mystery of the Dark Solitons

When your heart beats, blood courses through your arteries in waves of pressure. These pressure waves manifest as your pulse, a regular rhythm unperturbed by
NIST researcher Jodie Pope with the big blue ball

Better Flowmeters with the Big Blue Ball

Last year, upwards of 25 trillion cubic feet of natural gas were delivered to customers in the United States, and when it changed hands, nearly every cubic foot