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Physical Measurement Laboratory

News and Updates

Displaying 501 - 525 of 1523
Johnson Noise Thermometry Chip

Noise, Temperature, and the New SI

NIST has recently made substantial improvements to its Johnson-noise thermometry system, which is playing a vital role in the worldwide effort to determine the
James Kushmerick

CNST Welcomes New Deputy Director

For James Kushmerick, who became the deputy director of CNST on Oct. 3, joining the Center “feels like I’m getting back to my roots.” In 1994, Kushmerick was
Microcystis in Lake Ontario, 2014.

Harmful Algal Blooms in Their True Colors

Explosive growth of cyanobacteria, also called blue-green algae, is nothing new. In fact, such cyanobacteria probably produced the original oxygen in Earth's
gold chip

Counting Down to the New Ampere

After it's all over, your lights will be just as bright, and your refrigerator just as cold. But very soon the ampere -- the SI base unit of electrical current
chip-sized small-force meter

Measuring Tiny Forces with Light

Photons are bizarre: They have no mass, but they do have momentum. And that allows researchers to do counterintuitive things with photons, such as using light
NIST's compact gyroscope measures rotation by analyzing patterns of interfering matter waves in an expanding cloud of atoms transitioning between two energy states.

NIST's Compact Gyroscope May Turn Heads

Shrink rays may exist only in science fiction, but similar effects are at work in the real world at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
NanoFab Sputter Tool

Upgrades to Sputter Tools

The Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology is upgrading the NanoFab’ s two Denton Vacuum sputtering systems: Sputter 1 and Sputter 2. Both tools will be
student wearing helmet with multi-colored wires

Detecting Brain Waves with Atomic Vapor

It's really hard to hear what the brain is saying. Neural impulses -- currents of ions moving through channels between the brain's 100 billion neurons at a
Alex Galli monitors a profilometer using quality control software he implemented and configured during his internship at the CNST.

CNST: From internship to job

A year ago, Alex Galli graduated from the University of Kansas with an interest in nanotechnology but no experience in the field. Now he's employed in a