National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)’s cover photo
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

Research Services

Gaithersburg, MD 382,573 followers

Measure. Innovate. Lead.

About us

We are the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), a non-regulatory federal agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce. For more than a century, NIST has helped to keep U.S. technology at the leading edge. Our measurements support the smallest of technologies to the largest and most complex of human-made creations. NIST's mission is to promote U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards, and technology in ways that enhance economic security and improve our quality of life. See what innovative work we’re doing to support it: https://www.nist.gov/

Website
http://www.nist.gov
Industry
Research Services
Company size
1,001-5,000 employees
Headquarters
Gaithersburg, MD
Type
Government Agency
Founded
1901
Specialties
Standards, Metrology, Advanced Communications, Artificial Intelligence, Bioscience, Chemistry, Physics, Fire, Forensic Science, Environment, Cybersecurity, Mathematics and Statistics, Manufacturing, Electronics, Energy, Construction, Public Safety, Nanotechnology, Materials, Information Technology, Neutron Research, Health, Infrastructure, Buildings, Resilience, Transportation, Climate, and Performance Excellence

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Employees at National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

Updates

  • Earlier this month, the 2025 International Year of Quantum (IYQ) officially kicked off in an opening ceremony at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris. Here at NIST, we launched our celebration of IYQ with a new blog post, 5 Concepts Can Help You Understand Quantum Mechanics and Technology — Without Math!, and YouTube shorts explaining the concepts of quantization, entanglement and qubits. This is just the beginning of a series of blog posts, videos and other content throughout the year explaining quantum concepts and NIST quantum research for the general public. We look forward to presenting this content to you in the months ahead. #IYQ25

    NIST Tech Beat | February 2025

    NIST Tech Beat | February 2025

    National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) on LinkedIn

  • On July 20, 1969, almost immediately after he’d landed on the Moon, Neil Armstrong scooped up a sample of lunar dust and dumped it into a Teflon bag. Over 50 years later, NIST scientists have succeeded in creating the most detailed, three-dimensional models ever of these bits of dust, an achievement that could aid plans to return to the Moon and even help start a space colony there.   In all, NIST researchers Edward Garboczi and Ann Chiaramonti Debay analyzed 14,000 lunar dust particles collected during Armstrong’s Apollo 11 mission and 1971’s follow-up Apollo 14 mission. The particles ranged in size from 0.5 micrometers to 50 micrometers — no bigger than the thickness of a human hair.   Moon dust forms when small and large meteorites strike the Moon’s surface, pulverizing the rocks and fusing bits and pieces of the debris together. Unlike dust on Earth, Moon dust isn’t worn smooth by wind and water over the years. Instead, the particles are sharp and spiky, like tiny shards of glass.   To analyze and measure the dust, NIST researchers used high-tech methods such as X-ray computed tomography and scanning electron microscopy. However, they also had to resort to some low-tech methods.   To X-ray the dust, each particle needed to be isolated and unmoving. The researchers added the dust to a small amount of epoxy and spread the mixture on the outside of a round cocktail straw. While the X-rays went right through the glue and the straw, they bounced off the dust, enabling the researchers to map the particle’s contours and dimensions.   Having such precise models of lunar dust will enable NASA and private space exploration companies to create more accurate simulations of the Moon’s surface. They can also use NIST’s data to develop ways to build structures out of the dust that could one day become part of a lunar colony. “We now have ground truth for what lunar dust really looks like,” said Chiaramonti Debay. “Anyone who wants to use lunar dust in some way now has a way of verifying their models.”  #Technology #Moon #Innovation

    • Textured gray dust particle on a dark background
    • Textured gray dust particle on a dark background
    • Textured gray dust particle on a dark background
  • Ever since the first caveman got the idea to keep himself warm in a pelt of woolly mammoth fur, thermal insulation has been an important part of human comfort and survival.  Whether in the walls of your home, a jacket or a coffee cup, wherever humans go, we take some form of insulation with us.  But just because the idea is old doesn’t mean that there haven’t been innovations. Over the past few years, an entirely new category of insulation has made its way to the market. It’s called “phase change materials,” and they control the temperature inside a room by melting and freezing over the course of a day. This could result in lower energy costs to heat or cool buildings.  They’re not commonly used in homes yet because they need to be studied, and that’s what we’re doing here at NIST. Learn more in our latest Taking Measure blog post: https://lnkd.in/eczdfxfh #PhaseChangeMaterials #Engineering 

    • A researcher peers around the edge of large cylindrical piece of equipment in the lab.
  • This residential home on NIST’s campus in Gaithersburg, Maryland, bustles with activity, despite having no flesh-and-blood inhabitants. Its residents are electrical devices run by software, simulating a family of four.    In the living room, kitchen and main bedroom, electric resistors mimic the heat released by human bodies. Humidifiers in the kitchen give off moisture as people would.    Sensors measure temperature, humidity, chemicals and more. Software controls when water boils in the kitchen, how long showers last, when lights flip on and off.    What you see in this video is NIST’s net-zero house.    NIST researchers and collaborators designed this unique laboratory in the early 2010s with the goal of generating all the energy it would consume during a year — something accomplished by few U.S. buildings at the time. The net-zero house has helped scientists study how energy-saving technology impacts air quality, water quality and other essential features of a house.    #NetZero #NetZeroHome #Laboratory 

  • What is entanglement?  Entanglement is the quantum phenomenon where the properties of two particles are intertwined even if they are separated by great distances from each other. Picture this: You are looking for a set of gloves. If you found the right glove alone in your closet, you can be certain the missing glove would fit your left hand. The two gloves could be described as entangled, as knowing something about one would tell you something important about the other that isn't a random feature. As we develop better computers, sensors, and communication, entanglement is a very important to NIST.  #Quantum #Physics #NIST #IYQ2025 #QuantumPhysics 

  • “Since 1967 the second has been defined as the duration of 9,192,631,770 cycles of cesium’s resonance frequency. In other words, when the outer electron of a cesium atom falls to the lower state and releases light, the amount of time it takes to emit 9,192,631,770 cycles of the light wave defines one second.” NIST Researchers spoke with Scientific American about the definition of a second and the future of time. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eriHePvY #Time #Technology #TechNews #ScienceAndTechnology

    Is It Time to Redefine Time?

    Is It Time to Redefine Time?

    scientificamerican.com

  • In our connected world, information systems must agree on at least one thing to operate properly: the time. NIST provides official U.S. time over the internet so that users and customers can have a traceable, unbiased reference. The best part is that a time request is quick, easy and free for everyone. No wonder the NIST Network Time Service receives approximately 1 million web requests per second, which makes it the most requested service provided by the U.S. government.  Users of the NIST Network Time Service include many financial institutions and federal departments, including the United States Department of Defense, USDA, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the U.S. Department of State. Additionally, at least 16 state governments use the time service for general government operations. 

    • 6 different time keeping devices are shown. Text reads: TIME
  • Thermodynamics provides the laws governing the flow of energy, which were used in the Industrial Revolution to describe systems such as steam engines. Quantum mechanics, in contrast, describes the physical behavior of the smallest particles in the universe and underlies the operation of 21st-century devices, such as quantum computers. In her work at the Joint Center for Quantum Information and Computer Science, fellow Nicole Yunger Halpern is exploring what these two fields have in common.  She’s learned some surprising things that run counter to our everyday experiences. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/eRU-AxMm    #Thermodynamics #Quantum

    • A woman wearing glasses smiles at the camera. She sits at her desk holding an ink pen. In front of her is a laptop and monitor.
  • Get a good look at our million pounds-force deadweight machine. It produces, as the name indicates, one million pounds (4.45 meganewtons) worth of force. The load cells calibrated with this machine are used to measure things such as the thrust of a rocket or jet engine.  For more information, take a look at our article explaining how you measure rocket thrust: https://lnkd.in/eGtvA_J #Rocket #Technology #Instrument #Calibration  

    • A large machine made up of 5 metal discs sits behind a rail. In the corner of the room shelves with boxes are seen and a poster is on display.

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