National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

No researchers or torque wrenches were harmed in the making of this video.

We're mapping out the chemical makeup of the illicit drug landscape in near real-time through NIST's Rapid Drug Analysis and Research (RaDAR) program. Our researchers work with local, state and federal partners to provide quick, comprehensive and actionable data to address a rapidly evolving public health crisis. With this data, it's possible to track a new substance of concern (such as an animal tranquilizer used as a cutting agent) as it enters the supply in one area of the country and estimate when it can be expected to reach another area. Making public health professionals aware of what's coming can make a difference in how they treat patients entering health clinics and hospitals. The measurement work by NIST is done in this laboratory. Here, we use instruments called direct analysis in real time mass spectrometers (DART-MS) to analyze drug residue samples. The black tubes are portable snorkels, which suck in the vapors generated during the DART-MS analyses to keep our researchers safe from possible exposure.

When anonymous donors commissioned a musical piece to honor NIST on our 125th anniversary, composer Alex Cap learned to express measurement science through music. Since NIST is all about precision measurement, Cap opened the piece with a flurry of sixteenth notes. He explains that to accurately produce these fast notes, musicians have to play their instruments very precisely. Learn more about Cap’s composition, titled “Mensurae in Aeternum” (“Measurements for Eternity”) and hear it performed in our latest Taking Measure blog post: https://bit.ly/4s9bOkB #PrecisionMeasurement #Music

Behind the technologies that shape our world are the standards that make them possible. For 125 years, NIST has helped make America safer, healthier, and more prosperous.

Forensic investigators can now collect DNA evidence at the scene of a crime to accurately identify the people who were there. But this DNA evidence can be muddled and complicated. To help forensic scientists better unravel complex DNA samples, we have released a set of reference materials containing degraded DNA for the first time as well as mixtures of genetic material from several individuals. This material represents our latest work on DNA mixtures, and is just part of our long history in supporting forensic science. Read more in this edition of Tech Beat.

To see the “invisible,” like bacteria, scientists rely on microscopes. But what about when they want to see all the way down to the atomic level? It turns out there are microscopes for that, too. NIST researchers use a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) to image atoms within a sample. The STM has a metal probe that hangs about one nanometer — the length your fingernail grows in one second — above the surface of the material and applies a strong electrical current to the sample. By maintaining a consistent electrical current and distance from the material’s surface, scientists can capture 3D images of single atoms, providing deeper insight into their atomic structure and arrangement. Scientists can also use the STM to manipulate individual atoms, which is helpful for analyzing the properties of quantum materials useful in fabricating semiconductors and developing new quantum standards. But these microscopes are sensitive! They can pick up vibrations from cars on the highway or people walking in the hallway. Because researchers don’t want these environmental disturbances to affect their measurements, NIST’s microscope is housed three stories below ground level and rests atop multiple layers of concrete slabs and shock absorbers. #Quantum #Nanotechnology #Nanofabrication #Atoms

Right now, almost all optical clocks and fountain clocks—the highest-precision clocks ever made—live in laboratories. That allows scientists to tightly control variables like temperature and vibrations, but it limits what clocks can be used for.   If ultra-accurate clocks can be made to work in the rough-and-tumble world, they could launch a technological revolution, transforming activities as diverse as earthquake and volcano prediction, surveying and navigation.  Learn more in our latest Taking Measure blog post: https://lnkd.in/edN_VQz4

Today we’re celebrating the birthday of former NIST researcher Dave Wineland. Who is this person, you might be asking? Besides having an established career of more than 40 years at NIST, he also won the Nobel Prize in physics in 2012 for developing ground-breaking new methods for measuring and manipulating individual quantum systems. Within the first few years of starting at NIST, he used lasers to cool gases of ions, atoms with an electrical charge, to very low temperatures. Dave and his colleagues also used these laser-cooled ions to build new atomic clocks. Laser-cooled clocks now contribute to primary time and frequency standards around the world. Let’s wish this amazing physicist a happy birthday! Learn more about Dave’s career and accomplishments: https://lnkd.in/eqRcNYvN

Artificial intelligence systems push the limits of current hardware with high energy needs. Yet a new approach is within reach. NIST researchers are studying new hardware to match the needs of AI, taking inspiration from the brain, which can perform complex tasks with only 20 watts of power. In the lab shown here, our scientists are building artificial neural networks and other novel architectures to build prototype circuits. In doing so, we're on track to develop new measurements for evaluating hardware of the future.

In honor of NIST’s 125th anniversary, we’d like to throw it back to one of our longest-selling standard reference materials: limestone.  Its official name is SRM 1D Argillaceous (meaning it contains clay) Limestone, and it was first sold in 1910. Each bottle contains 70 grams of limestone, and it’s useful for the construction industry. Why? Limestone is an important component in many types of building materials, but it’s a natural substance, which means its composition varies across different limestone deposits. Labs testing their own building materials need to know their composition, including the percentage of limestone versus other elements. To verify this, they run the SRM through their lab instruments to see if they obtain the correct values.  Despite being more than a century old, this SRM continues to meet industry’s needs today, just as it did back in 1910. #Construction #BuildingMaterials #Standards #Limestone