Taking Measure Blog: Metrology

Metrology

A researcher wearing a lab coat uses tongs to place a silvery sphere into a large scientific device as another researcher looks on.

Talk NISTy to Me: When Everyday Words Take On Different Meanings in Measurement Science

December 4, 2024

Words that have common meanings have different definitions in the world of measurement science.

What’s in a Name? The Magnetic Weber

October 23, 2024

Dr. Wilhelm Weber gets the distinction of having the unit of magnetic flux, the weber, named in his honor. Magnetic flux measures the total magnetic field that

NIST Chief Metrologist Jim Olthoff stands in front of equipment in a lab.

Keepers of the Right Answer: Why Measurements at NIST Are Important for the Nation and the World

September 11, 2024

Practically everything you use in your everyday life works because of measurement science.

NIST researchers Elizabeth Strychalski and David Ross program the robotic arm that operates within the box-like structure of the NIST biofoundry.

The Promise of Synthetic Cells: Revolutionary New Drugs, Outer Space Explorers and Pushing Beyond the Limits of Evolution

July 31, 2024

Scientists are getting closer to creating a living cell from scratch. It could help treat diseases or even create life forms that can be better adapted to space

One of the World’s Roundest Objects Is Helping to Build a Better Mass Measurement

July 17, 2024

Different countries' approaches can lead to different definitions of the kilogram. But NIST is working with our international partners to see how we can close

You Don’t Learn This in School: My Experience as a NIST Summer Intern

July 10, 2024

The most important thing I remember from being a NIST intern last summer is the power of persistence in research.

Stephen Eckel wears dark safety glasses as he peers into the complex CAVS apparatus in a darkened lab.

How Low Can Temperature Go? Lord Kelvin and the Science of Absolute Zero

June 26, 2024

On Lord Kelvin’s 200th birthday today, we’re remembering the scientist who brought us the metric (SI) unit for temperature.

George Caceres wears safety glasses and a lab coat as he looks at a plastic test tube he is holding.

Measuring Microplastics: To Solve the Problem, We Have to Understand and Measure It

April 17, 2024

My friends sometimes jokingly ask me, “How many microplastics do you think I consumed this week?” Unfortunately, the answer is not zero.

The Sound of Soot: How a Strange Noise Can Keep Us Safer From Fires

March 27, 2024

Where there’s smoke, there’s fire. Where there’s fire, there is soot. And where there is soot, there is … noise.

Kathryn Miller sits reading a book at a small table in the NIST library.

From Bookmobiles to Big Data, How Library Scientists Make Information Accessible to All

March 20, 2024

During Women’s History Month, a NIST librarian looks back at the librarian who brought us the bookmobile — back when it brought books by horse and buggy.

Taking Measure