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Physical Measurement Laboratory

News and Updates

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JILA Named 'Physics Historic Site' on its 50th Anniversary

July 11, 2012

JILA, a Colorado laboratory known around the world for creating new states of matter and novel laser designs and applications, turns 50 this year and will

Researchers Demonstrate and Explain Surface Conduction in a Topological Insulator

July 11, 2012

Researchers at the University of Maryland and the NIST Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology have for the first time experimentally demonstrated surface

Artist's conception of JILA's advance in atomic force microscope (AFM) design.

Not-So-Precious: Stripping Gold From AFM Probes Allows Better Measurement of Picoscale Forces

June 27, 2012

Gold is not necessarily precious—at least not as a coating on atomic force microscope (AFM) probes. JILA researchers found that removing an AFM probe's gold

Hark! Group Demonstrates First Heralded Single Photon Source Made from Silicon

June 27, 2012

In an important step towards more practical quantum information processing, researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the

Shaffique Adam Receives Singapore National Research Foundation Fellowship

June 27, 2012

Shaffique Adam, an NRC Postdoctoral Research Associate in the NIST Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology, has been awarded a 2012 Singapore National

illustration of pseudomagnetic fields that confine grahene's electrons and create quntized quantum dot-like energy levels

'Tuning' Graphene Drums Might Turn Conductors to Semiconductors

June 27, 2012

Tightening or relaxing the tension on a drumhead will change the way the drum sounds. The same goes for drumheads made from graphene, only instead of changing

NIST Goes the Distance for the Olympics

June 27, 2012

In yet another Olympian feat of measurement, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recently calibrated a tape that will be

Graphene Drumheads Tuned to Make Quantum Dots

June 21, 2012

Tightening or relaxing the tension on a drumhead will change the way the drum sounds. The same goes for drumheads made from graphene, only instead of changing

First Observation of the Hall Effect in a Bose-Einstein Condensate

June 19, 2012

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) researchers have observed for the first time the Hall effect in a gas of ultracold atoms. The Hall effect

JILA Frequency Comb Helps Evaluate Novel Biomedical Decontamination Method

June 14, 2012

Like many new measurement tools, the laser frequency comb seemed at first a curiosity but has found more practical uses than originally imagined. The technique

NIST Launches New Website to Educate Industry About Alternatives to Mercury Thermometers

June 12, 2012

As part of a larger effort to reduce the amount of mercury, a potent neurotoxin, in the environment, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

NIST Effort Could Improve High-Tech Medical Scanners

June 12, 2012

A powerful color-based imaging technique is making the jump from remote sensing to the operating room—and a team of scientists* at the National Institute of

man sits on a chair in front of a power meter

Laser Radiometry: Powering Up

June 11, 2012

"If you made a long distance phone call or sent an email today, or if you're wearing clothes, then you are benefiting directly from our laser services," says

Looking At and Into the Ultra-Small

June 8, 2012

NIST is taking a huge step into the ultra-small with the Precision Imaging Facility (PIF) now being outfitted in new Precision Measurement Laboratory on the

CNST Releases the Spring 2012 Edition of The CNST News

May 25, 2012

The NIST Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST) is pleased to announce the release of the spring 2012 edition of The CNST News. This quarterly

NIST engineer Kate Remley holds two Personal Alert Safety System (PASS) devices with wireless alarm capability.

Improving Safety Measures and Measures of Safety for World Metrology Day 2012

May 17, 2012

World Metrology Day celebrates the signing of the Treaty of the Meter on May 20, 1875.* By signing the treaty, representatives from 17 nations, including the

Spin Polarized Supercurrents Optimized with a Simple Flip

May 11, 2012

Researchers from Michigan State University, the NIST Center for Neutron Research, and the NIST Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology have discovered the

New Point for Dew Point

May 10, 2012

Peter Huang of the Sensor Science Division's Temperature and Humidity group has devised a new humidity generator that enables dew-point measurements up to 98 °C

New Vacuum Calibration System: Better, Faster, and Cheaper

May 8, 2012

In the vacuum business, less is more—except when it comes to accuracy. Industries that depend on high-quality, carefully monitored vacuum for sensitive

Teaching the Next Generation of Scientists: PML Reaches out at USA Science and Engineering Festival

May 7, 2012

For the second consecutive year, PML played a major role in NIST's contributions to the Science and Engineering Festival in Washington DC. The annual event

Petroleum Volume: Getting Calibrations in the Can

May 7, 2012

The volume of oil and oil products moving through America's pipelines, waterways, roads, and rails borders on the unimaginable. "Look at it this way," says John

Beaming Up on the Way to Space

May 7, 2012

Space may be the final frontier. But often a few trips to PML are necessary before things can get off the ground. One recent case in point is the test of an

NIST researchers' new approach to trapping nanoparticles uses a control and feedback system that nudges them only when needed.

Light Touch Keeps a Grip on Delicate Nanoparticles

May 2, 2012

Using a refined technique for trapping and manipulating nanoparticles, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have extended

First Light: NIST Researchers Develop New Way to Generate Superluminal Pulses

May 2, 2012

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a novel way of producing light pulses that are "superluminal"—in some

NIST Physicists Benchmark Quantum Simulator with Hundreds of Qubits

April 25, 2012

Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have built a quantum simulator that can engineer interactions among hundreds of quantum

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