NIST tagged posts

As Wi-Fi is deployed more widely in cities, and perhaps at higher frequencies, it may depend on an abundant urban asset: streetlight poles.

To help ensure these networks work well, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed and verified a novel mo...

The NIST-4 watt balance has measured Planck’s constant to within 34 parts per billion, demonstrating that the high-tech scale is accurate enough to assist with 2018’s planned redefinition of the kilogram. Credit: J. L. Lee/NIST

A high-tech version of an old-fashioned balance scale at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has just brought scientists a critical step closer toward a new and improved definition of the kg. The scale, NIST-4 watt balance, has conducted its first measurement of the Planck’s constant to within 34 parts per billion – demonstrating the scale is accurate enough to assist the international community with the redefinition of the kilogram, an event slated for 2018.

The redefinition-which is not intended to alter the value of the kilogram’s mass, but ...

Chunks of this sodium-based compound (Na2B12H12) (left) would function well in a battery only at elevated temperatures, but when they are milled into far smaller pieces (right), they can potentially perform even in extreme cold, making them even more promising as the basis for safer, cheaper rechargeables. Credit: Tohoku University, Japan

By chemically modifying and pulverizing a promising group of compounds, scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have potentially brought safer, solid-state rechargeable batteries 2 steps closer to reality. These compounds are stable solid materials that would not pose the risks of leaking or catching fire typical of traditional liquid battery ingredients and are made from commonly available substances.

The first advance cam...