Physics
New State
of Matter Yields Nobel Prize for NIST Researcher
The
three men who completed the 71-year quest for the Bose-Einstein
condensate, a search likened by many physicists to the one for
the mythical Holy Grail, have been honored with the 2001 Nobel
Prize in physics.
The
newest Nobel physics laureates are Eric A. Cornell of the National
Institute of Standards and Technology, Carl E. Wieman of the University
of Colorado at Boulder, and Wolfgang Ketterle of the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology. Cornell and Wieman are fellows of JILA,
a joint institute of CU-Boulder and NIST.
Predicted
in 1924 by Albert Einstein, who built on the work of Satyendra
Nath Bose, the BEC occurs when individual atoms meld into a “superatom”
behaving as a single entity at just a few hundred billionths of
a degree above absolute zero. Cornell and Wieman first observed
the condensate in June 1995. Ketterle achieved the new state of
matter two months later and made some of the first studies of
its properties.
The
BEC allows scientists to study the strange and extremely small
world of quantum physics as if they are looking through a giant
magnifying glass. Its creation established a new branch of atomic
physics that has provided a treasure-trove of scientific discoveries.
Future applications of the BEC may include its use in nanotechnology
and precision measurement.
The
three winners will share a $943,000 prize for their achievements.
Cornell
is the second Nobel laureate for NIST. William Phillips, a NIST
fellow, shared the 1997 Nobel Prize in physics.
Media
Contact:
Collier
Smith (Boulder), (303) 497-3198
Chemistry
It’s
a Dirty Job, But Somebody Has to Do It
Chimney
sweeps are not the only people who make a living out of soot.
Some scientists have devoted careers to studying soot, which
turns out to be a somewhat mysterious substance.
The
National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Chemical
Science and Technology Laboratory is developing a process
to make “designer soot,” a task that—considering
the ubiquity of this gritty, grimy material—isn’t
as easy as one might think.
The
soot produced under controlled conditions in NIST’s spray
combustion facility is part of an effort to develop metrology
for this material. Today, the physical and chemical properties
of soot cannot be measured with certainty, a concern to both
industry and government regulators. NIST is working with the
Environmental Protection Agency to improve the monitoring of
air quality and the understanding of how airborne particulate
matter (such as soot) may affect human health. NIST’s role
includes the development of standard materials that can be used
to calibrate analytical instruments that measure particulate
matter.
Researchers
plan to control fuel type and combustion conditions so that
an easily reproducible “designer soot” recipe can
be developed.
Potential
applications for this research extend beyond atmospheric science
and environmental monitoring. For example, a greater understanding
of the chemistry behind carbon particulate formation would be
very useful to persons working in fire research (including NIST’s
Building and Fire Research
Laboratory, which does extensive studies of soot properties,
behavior and impacts) and nanotechnology.
Media
Contact:
Michael
Newman, (301) 975-3025
Crimefighting
NIST
Helps Close Electronic Nooks to Computer-Using Crooks
Classic
bits of evidence collected by police at a crime scene include
the smoking gun, fingerprints and lipstick on a glass. However,
today’s investigators often must search beyond the obvious
for the missing piece that will solve the puzzle—like within
a computer’s hard drive.
Forensic
science specialists invited to the National Institute of Standards
and Technology recently completed a guide for law enforcement
officers titled Electronic Crime Scene Investigation: A Guide
for First Responders. The booklet provides investigators who
regularly are the first to arrive at a crime scene (known as “first
responders”) with an overview of what kinds of electronic
evidence may be available to them in devices ranging from large
computers to pagers.
When
people began using computers to directly commit criminal offenses—such
as online fraud and hacking—specialized police groups were
trained to evaluate a crime scene and preserve electronic evidence.
However, the ever increasing involvement of computers in other
crimes (for example, a stalker sending harassing e-mails or an
illegal business storing data in a spreadsheet program) means
that this expertise no longer can be limited to select teams.
Therefore, NIST’s Office
of Law Enforcement Standards—with sponsorship by the
Department of Justice’s National Institute of Justice—produced
the new electronic crime scene guide.
NIJ
recently published the NIST guide in both ASCII and Adobe Acrobat
downloadable formats at the following web address: www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/pubs-sum/187736.htm.
Media
Contact:
Philip
Bulman, (301) 975-5661
Nanotechnology
Science
Friction: Lubricants for Minuscule Machines
People
say that water and oil don’t mix. They can, however, co-exist
as two separate molecules on the same surface. And therein lie
both opportunities and challenges for National Institute of Standards
and Technology researchers who are aiding industry efforts to
develop surface protecting and lubricating films that will shield
super-small machines and their even tinier components from friction
and wear.
Ultrathin
lubricants or single-layer films will be needed for the minuscule
nanotechnology gadgetry to come, from dust-sized environmental
sensors to machines for repairing damaged cells. Today’s
lubrication systems—such as the fluorocarbon compounds and
carbon overcoats used on magnetic disk drives—may not be
adequate to meet the demanding performance requirements envisioned
for nanotechnology applications.
With
collaborators from the data-storage and lubricant industries,
the NIST team is exploring the lubricating potential of a mixed-molecule,
single-layer film. They are testing novel combinations of up to
four different molecules, each one chosen to achieve desired capabilities,
from wear resistance to self-repair. In one combination, for example,
a particular group of molecules adheres tightly to the surface,
anchoring the film and protecting against high-shear collisions.
Other molecules “swim” among the anchors to prevent
friction.
The
NIST team is developing test methods to evaluate new materials
and new combinations of materials being considered as lubricants.
An
overview of this project (in Adobe Acrobate format) can be found
at www.msel.nist.gov/nanotribology.pdf.
Media
Contact:
Mark
Bello, (301) 975-3776
NIST
‘Microhotplate’ May Help Search for Extraterrestrial
Life
Astronauts
or unmanned space vehicles may one day detect and quantitate the
gases found on other planets using tiny chemical sensors—each
measuring about 100 microns, approaching the width of a human
hair—based on a design developed at NIST.
NIST
researchers are collaborating with the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory to adapt
NIST’s “microhotplate” technology for use in space
applications, such as detecting biogenic (produced by living organisms)
gases in planetary atmospheres, investigating organic materials
on comets for studies of the history of the universe, or monitoring
air quality in habitats. This advanced measurement system already
has proven applicable to environmental monitoring and military
operations.
A
microhotplate is a tiny machined structure consisting of a heater,
a metal thermometer/heat distribution plate and electrical contacts,
all separated by insulating layers. Sensing films are deposited
on the structures. The device relies on changes in electrical
conductance in the sensing film to detect the presence of adsorbed
gases. Temperature changes may be used to create response “fingerprints”
for different gases. Gas mixtures can be analyzed with sensor
arrays of multiple microhotplate devices.
Advantages
of a microhotplate for use in space include its small size, light
weight, and low power and maintenance requirements. It has the
potential to provide almost instant chemical analysis or collect
samples over time to detect small amounts of gases.
Media
Contact:
Michael
Newman, (301) 975-3025
Law
Enforcement
Public
Defenders Get Better Defense Against Stabbings
Thousands
of corrections and law enforcement officers are safer from stabbing
attacks these days because of a new standard developed by NIST’s
Office of Law Enforcement
Standards.
Many
nations with strict gun control laws, including the United Kingdom,
view stabbing as a much more common threat to law enforcement
officers than shooting. In this country, it is the greater threat
to people who work in prisons and jails, where guns are unavailable
and stabbing attacks involving improvised knives often occur.
NIST researchers worked with the U.K.’s Police Scientific
Development Branch to develop ways to test the effectiveness of
specially designed vests that protect against stabbing attacks.
These “stab-resistant vests” are similar to ballistic-resistant
body armor (commonly, but incorrectly, called “bullet-proof
vests”). Researchers have found that ballistics-resistant
vests do not necessarily provide adequate protection against knife
attacks.
The
National Institute of Justice, an agency of the Department of
Justice, sponsored the NIST research that led to the stab-resistant
body armor standard. Since the standard was released in September
2000, state, county and local law enforcement and corrections
agencies have purchased about 24,000 stab-resistant vests with
their own and supplemental funding from the Justice Department’s
Vest Partnership Program.
The
performance standard for stab-resistant vests complements the
ballistic-resistant body armor standard that NIST previously developed
for NIJ. It’s estimated that the standard has helped save
the lives of more than 2,500 law enforcement officers since 1975,
when vests meeting its criteria were first issued to 5,000 officers
in 15 major cities.
