national metrology institutes – Page 13

New NIST Spectrometer Measures Single Photons with Great Precision | NIST

December 18, 2017 Office

Future communications networks that are less vulnerable to hacking could be closer to reality with an invention that measures the properties of single-photon sources with high accuracy. Built by scientists at the National Institute of […]

Lights, Camera, Calibrate! Improving Space Cameras with a Better Model for Ultra-Bright Lamps | NIST

November 14, 2017 Office

Studio photographers may be familiar with the 1,000-watt quartz halogen lamps known as “FELs.” Scientists use them too—specially calibrated ones, at least—to test the performance of light sensors that monitor Earth’s weather, plant life and […]

Bringing the World Closer to Revised Measurement System, Scientists Update Four Key Fundamental Constants | NIST

October 24, 2017 Office

Paving the way for transforming the world’s measurement system, an international task force has determined updated values for four fundamental constants of nature. The updated values comprise the last scientific piece of the puzzle for […]

How Bright is the Moon, Really? | NIST

October 13, 2017 Office

The “inconstant moon,” as Shakespeare called it in Romeo and Juliet, is more reliable than his pair of star-crossed lovers might have thought. Now researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) plan […]

New Measurement Will Help Redefine International Unit of Mass | NIST

June 30, 2017 Office

Using a state-of-the-art device for measuring mass, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have made their most precise determination yet of Planck’s constant, an important value in science that will help […]

Measuring Acceleration with Light | NIST

March 29, 2017 Office

March 29, 2017 – Most people have never seen an accelerometer — a device that measures change in velocity — and wouldn’t know where to look. Yet accelerometers have become essential to modern life, from […]

Better Flowmeters with the Big Blue Ball | NIST

February 24, 2017 Office

Last year, upwards of 25 trillion cubic feet of natural gas were delivered to customers in the United States, and when it changed hands, nearly every cubic foot was measured using gas flowmeters. The accuracy […]

Legal Metrology | NIST

January 26, 2017 Office

A pound is a pound is a pound, right? Luckily, when you buy something in the United States, you can be extremely confident that you are getting the quantity you paid for, whether it’s a […]