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Physical Measurement Laboratory

News and Updates

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No Compromises: JILA's Short, Flexible, Reusable AFM Probe

April 8, 2014

JILA researchers have engineered a short, flexible, reusable probe for the atomic force microscope (AFM) that enables state-of-the-art precision and stability

Developing a 'Gold Standard' for Hall Resistance

April 7, 2014

PML researchers have developed a novel method of fabricating graphene-based microdevices that may hasten the arrival of a new generation of standards for

NIST-F2 Atomic Clock Webinar

April 3, 2014

On April 3, 2014, NIST hosted a news briefing on the NIST-F2 Atomic Clock. << Back to the press release. <

NIST physicists Steve Jefferts and Tom Heavner with the NIST-F2 cesium fountain atommic clock

NIST Launches a New U.S. Time Standard: NIST-F2 Atomic Clock

April 3, 2014

NIST-F2 Atomic Clock News Briefing: Opening Statement by Tom O'Brian, Chief, Time and Frequency Division Opening Statement by Steve Jefferts, NIST Project

Explaining Interactions between Light, Heat, and Charge Carriers in Silicon Photonic Microresonators

March 27, 2014

In an article appearing in the March 28th issue of Physical Review Letters, researchers from Northwestern University working with researchers from the NIST

NIST Gives Astronomers a Better Ruler in the Search for Extrasolar Planets

March 26, 2014

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have rejuvenated a technique for finding planets near distant stars.* New measurements

Essay: How to Weigh Everything from Atoms to Apples Using the Revised SI

March 26, 2014

Very soon, the International System of Units (SI) may be revised to define the unit of mass in terms of a fixed value of the Planck constant, h. That move would

PML Scientists Develop 3D SEM Metrology for 10 nm Structures

March 21, 2014

PML researchers have devised an idea for determining the three-dimensional shape of features as small as 10 nanometers wide. The model-based method compares

Demagnetization Dynamics on a Femtosecond Time Scale

March 20, 2014

There are many unknowns in the future of computing. But one thing is certain: Devices will be reading and writing information faster, and storing it at ever

NIST Chips Help BICEP2 Telescope Find Direct Evidence of Origin of the Universe

March 18, 2014

The view back in time—way back to the origins of the universe—just got clearer. Much clearer. A team of U.S. cosmologists using the BICEP2 telescope at the

Schematic showing metal-organic framework materials on a surface. Their expansion, which is induced by an infrared laser, is detected using the tip of an atomic force microscope.

Looking Inside: Assessing the Chemical Composition of a Metal-Organic Framework with Nanoscale Resolution

March 11, 2014

Researchers from the NIST Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST), in collaboration with researchers from University of Lyon, France, have applied a

Magnetic Attraction: Physicists Pay Homage to the SQUID at 50

March 11, 2014

From humble beginnings in a series of accidental discoveries, SQUIDs have invaded and enhanced many areas of science and medicine, thanks, in part, to the

PML Contributes to Formation of Landmark IEEE Standards Committee and Working Group for MEMS Sensor Performance Parameters

March 5, 2014

MicroElectroMechanical Systems (MEMS) devices are everywhere, from automobiles (airbag sensors, tire-pressure monitoring systems, vehicle stabilization control)

Aerosol Contents: How Much Is In That Can?

March 5, 2014

The work of NIST can be found in many unexpected places in American life -- including store shelves containing different kinds of aerosol products. So perhaps

JILA Physicists Discover 'Quantum Droplet' in Semiconductor

February 26, 2014

JILA physicists used an ultrafast laser and help from German theorists to discover a new semiconductor quasiparticle—a handful of smaller particles that briefly

Perspective: Weights and Measures Week 2014 — Making Sure the Marketplace Measures Up

February 25, 2014

Commentary by Mark Esser. Every year, we hear scattered stories of inaccurate measures. Gas pumps, grocery scales, grocery scanners, incorrectly labeled

Stirred, Then Shaken: NIST Atomtronic Study May Pave the Way for New Devices

February 19, 2014

While pursuing the goal of turning a cloud of ultracold atoms into a completely new kind of circuit element, physicists at the National Institute of Standards

Hysteresis in a Quantized BEC Superfluid

February 14, 2014

Scientists at NIST's Physical Measurement Laboratory and the NIST-sponsored Joint Quantum Institute (JQI), with collaborators elsewhere, have observed a

CNST Deputy Director Lloyd Whitman Serving as Interim Director of the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office

February 12, 2014

Lloyd Whitman, Deputy Director of the NIST Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST), has been detailed to the National Science and Technology Council

prototype receiver for laser communications

Clever NIST/JPL Technology Decodes More Information from Single Photons

February 11, 2014

It's not quite Star Trek communications—yet. But long-distance communications in space may be easier now that researchers at the National Institute of Standards

Researchers Develop Framework for Understanding Current-Switched Magnetic Devices

February 5, 2014

An international collaboration led by researchers from the NIST Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST) has made significant progress in modelling

A New Era for Atomic Clocks

February 4, 2014

A revolution is under way in timekeeping. Precision timekeeping based on atomic clocks already underpins much of our modern technology—telecommunications

Preparing the Next Generation of Female Physicists

February 3, 2014

"If the profession of physics is to thrive, we must make it our goal to achieve a scientifically literate society, a population that understands and values the

Toward New Precision in Measuring the Neutron Lifetime

February 3, 2014

A team of PML scientists and collaborators* has achieved a five-fold reduction in the dominant uncertainty in an experiment that measured the mean lifetime of

double-paddle oscillator in its mounting, seen from below

Surface Detail: Oscillator to Explore Secrets of Mass Variation

January 30, 2014

It might seem that when the world agrees on a new definition of the kilogram based on a fixed value of a physical constant, as is expected soon, no one will

Advanced communications
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Bioscience
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Buildings and Construction
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Chemistry
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Electronics
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Energy
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Environment
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Information technology
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Materials
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Mathematics and statistics
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Metrology
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Nanotechnology
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--Lithography
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Neutron research
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