general – Cal Lab Magazine

Updated SI Brochure clarifies the status of non-SI units | BIPM News

June 4, 2026 Office

The SI Brochure is the authoritative document describing the International System of Units (SI), the world’s only internationally agreed system of units. The new version introduces revisions to the section on non-SI units and updates […]

Accuracy records set: Two research groups awarded Helmholtz Prizes | PTB Press Release

June 1, 2026 Office

Although the prefixes ‘nano’, ‘femto’ and ‘atto’ suggest something small, they often conceal significant physics and impressive technology. This year, two research groups have been awarded the Helmholtz Prize for setting accuracy records in their […]

Illustration of Tiny people with a check to do list, a magnifying glass and a target.

Metrology for Newbs: Entering the Community, Not Just the Career

May 27, 2026 Office

by Joseph Rindone Most people don’t choose metrology, at least not at first. They arrive through necessity. A technician is handed an instrument and told to calibrate it. An engineer is tasked with verifying measurements. […]

NIST Weighs In on the Mystery of the Gravitational Constant | NIST News

April 16, 2026 Office

The time had come to open the envelope, but Stephan Schlamminger, a physicist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), wasn’t sure he wanted to know the secret number that lay inside. For […]

Gemini generated illustration of a jumble of cords.

Working with Difficult Equipment

March 4, 2026 Michael Schwartz

I’m currently writing some automation for a piece of equipment I would classify as difficult to communicate with! And like you should never end a sentence with a preposition, this particular piece of equipment, every […]

Photo of the International Space Station.

Space: The Final Frontier for Standards | NIST News

February 19, 2026 Office

Wrapped snugly in a custom container, seven carefully chosen materials left Earth on Aug. 24, 2025, traveling at 17,500 mph. Nestled at the top of a Falcon 9 rocket, house dust, freeze-dried human liver and […]

Metrology in Short

December 19, 2025 Office

In 2025, to commemorate 150 years since the signing of the Metre Convention, EURAMET has published the 4th edition of ‘Metrology in Short’. The new version of Metrology in Short (MiS), like its predecessors, is designed for […]

Risks and Limitations of a Three-Point Calibration Program in the Regulated Industry

December 12, 2025 Office

by Ricardo Vilmenay This article not only exposes some of the technical risks associated with calibrating at only three points but also focuses on one of the most common and difficult-to-detect errors: the Type “S” […]