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Metrology

NIST's metrology research focuses on advancing measurement science to enhance economic security and improve quality of life.

kilograms under glass jars

The Road to the Revised SI
Circular multicolored graphic showing the symbols for the SI base units and the constants that are used to define them.

For All Times, For All Peoples: How Replacing the Kilogram Empowers Industry (blog post)
We Did It! Thumbnail

Video: We Did It!
George Orji using a pair of tweezers to make an adjustment to an instrument.

What To Do When Measurement Methods Produce Different Answers (blog post)

The Romance of Precision Measurement

News and Updates

Events

5724 Mass Metrology Seminar

Mon, Oct 18 2021, 8:00am - Fri, Oct 29 2021, 5:30pm EDT
The NIST Gaithersburg campus is currently in Phase 1 of reopening and is closed to visitors. Do not make any travel

5723 Advanced Mass Seminar

Mon, Sep 20 2021, 8:00am - Thu, Sep 30 2021, 5:30pm EDT
The NIST Gaithersburg campus is currently in Phase 1 of reopening and is closed to visitors. Do not make any travel

5727 Fundamentals of Metrology

Mon, Sep 13 2021, 8:00am - Fri, Sep 17 2021, 5:30pm EDT
The NIST Gaithersburg campus is currently in Phase 1 of reopening and is closed to visitors. Do not make any travel

Industry Impacts

refrigerants

Low GHG Refrigerants

Hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants are potent greenhouse gases (GHG) that are being phased down by the U.S. and 196 other countries under the Montreal
Two men stand behind a piece of metal on a custom tripod

Manufacturing Large Objects

It’s expensive and time-consuming for manufacturers to ensure the large objects they make, such as aircraft wings and earth-moving equipment, are the right size
A man in a hardhat standing on top of the million-pound weight stack with a person standing at the bottom.

Massive Forces for Heavy Industry

Measuring large forces, such as the thrust of a rocket engine or the deflection of an aircraft wing, requires well-calibrated force sensors. NIST’s unique

Projects and Programs

Measuring interactions between chiral edge states. 2D heterostructure (left); magnetoresistance data (right).

Quantum Transport Measurements

We are developing the foundational knowledge and measurement infrastructure that will facilitate the use of solid state systems with emergent quantum properties

Publications

Tools and Instruments

Microcalorimeter Detector

The NIST transition edge sensor microcalorimeter is energy dispersive x-ray spectrometer capable of ~5 eV resolution over a range of energies from hundreds to

Awards

This is a picture of the awardees of the 2018 ASM Howe Medal

2018 Henry Marion Howe Medal

The ASM Henry Marion Howe Medal is awarded in memory of Dr. Henry Marion Howe, a distinguished teacher, writer, metallurgist and consultant...