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Physical Measurement Laboratory

Time and Frequency Division

News and Updates

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NIST Physicists Create Record-Setting Quantum Motion

July 22, 2019

Showcasing precise control at the quantum level, physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a method for making an

Man wearing clear goggles holding a yellow box in one hand and using the other hand to adjust a table of optics equipment

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

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

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

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

NIST Atomic Clocks Now Keep Time Well Enough to Improve Models of Earth

November 28, 2018

Experimental atomic clocks at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have achieved three new performance records, now ticking precisely

NIST’s Electro-Optic Laser Pulses 100 Times Faster Than Usual Ultrafast Light

September 27, 2018

Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have used common electronics to build a laser that pulses 100 times more often than

Cartoon with man standing on falling blue cube representing Earth, decorated with clumps of clock faces, with yellow sun at right.

NIST Atomic Clock Comparison Confirms Key Assumptions of ‘Einstein’s Elevator’

June 4, 2018

By comparing different types of remote atomic clocks, physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have performed the most accurate

Laboratory with computer screens mounted on the wall, and a table with instruments

NIST Team Shows Tiny Frequency Combs Are Reliable Measurement Tools

April 25, 2018

In an advance that could shrink many measurement technologies, scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and partners have

Square silver device with black-lined window connected to a clear tube on the left, a copper fringe down the middle, and a penny on the right

Mini Toolkit for Measurements: New NIST Chip Hints at Quantum Sensors of the Future

April 10, 2018

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have created a chip on which laser light interacts with a tiny cloud of atoms to serve

Man in striped shirt wearing laser safety glasses working with laser table in laboratory.

‘Quantum Radio’ May Aid Communications and Mapping Indoors, Underground and Underwater

January 2, 2018

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have demonstrated that quantum physics might enable communications and mapping in

Man with gray hair standing beside computer with digital clock display

NIST’s Next-Generation Atomic Clocks May Support Official Timekeeping

November 16, 2017

For more than a decade, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has been unveiling experimental next-generation atomic clocks. These clocks

Amplitude Sensing below the Zero-Point Fluctuations

October 18, 2017

Employing techniques developed for quantum information processing with trapped ions, we demonstrate a sensitive technique for measuring the amplitude of the

PML Technology Transfer in the News

October 12, 2017

The Denver Post recently ran a front-page story about drones (unmanned aerial vehicles) and their many useful, emerging applications. According to the article,

Nobel Laureate Wineland to Leave NIST, Accepts Position at University of Oregon

August 1, 2017

Nobel laureate David Wineland announced today that he plans to leave the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) this fall and has accepted a

Illustration of laser cooling motion of atomic ion

NIST Physicists Find a Way to Control Charged Molecules – with Quantum Logic

May 10, 2017

BOULDER, Colo.—National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) physicists have solved the seemingly intractable puzzle of how to control the quantum

NIST Physicists Show Ion Pairs Perform Enhanced 'Spooky Action'

March 28, 2017

Adding to strong recent demonstrations that particles of light perform what Einstein called “spooky action at a distance,” in which two separated objects can

1st North American Conference on Trapped Ions

March 20, 2017

The Ion Storage group at NIST Boulder will be holding a new Ion Trap Conference at our laboratory. The conference will be similar in scope and aims to the

NIST Debuts Dual Atomic Clock — and a New Stability Record

November 28, 2016

What could be better than a world-leading atomic clock? Two clocks in one. Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have combined

NIST and Navy Tests Suggest Telecom Networks Could Back Up GPS Time Signals

September 8, 2016

Precision time signals sent through the Global Positioning System (GPS) synchronize cellphone calls, time-stamp financial transactions, and support safe travel

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

August 23, 2016

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)

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