PML Impact: June/July 2022

The latest news from the Physical Measurement Laboratory (PML) at NIST.

View As Web Page June/July 2022 Seeking COVID's Kryptonite To disinfect a surface, you can illuminate it with a blast of UV light, which is bluer than the human eye can see. But to specifically inactivate SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, which wavelengths are best? And how much radiation is enough? NIST and DHS colleagues have completed what may be the most thorough test ever conducted of how several different UV and visible wavelengths affect SARS-CoV-2. Read More FEATURE STORIES Out of the Shadows Using submillimeter radiation naturally emitted by objects and people, a NIST researcher and colleagues have found a new way of seeing around corners. Imaging scenes that lie outside an observer's direct line of sight could greatly enhance search and rescue missions, such as finding a lost child in an abandoned factory, as well as military and police surveillance operations. Read More Cell Metrics Confidence Boost Measuring the numbers and properties of cells moving in a stream is critically important to diagnostic medicine and pharmaceutical research. Now, NIST researchers have made unprecedented improvements to the technique. Read More Better Vacuum Standard A novel, quantum-based vacuum gauge system invented by NIST researchers has passed its first test to be a true primary standard – that is, intrinsically accurate without the need for calibration. Precision pressure measurement is of urgent interest to semiconductor fabricators who must rigorously control vacuum environments for product quality. Read More Nanomagnets Choose a Wine AI is catching up to the human brain in many tasks but usually consumes a lot more energy to do the same things. Now, NIST scientists and collaborators have developed a new type of hardware for AI that could use less energy and operate more quickly — and it has already passed a virtual wine-tasting test. Read More Now Hear This! NIST researchers have designed and built an optical device that could set a new standard for measuring the pressure exerted by sound waves — a measure related to their loudness — and for calibrating microphones and other sound sensors. Read More How Flat is 'Flat'? Transistors made from 2D materials may enable smaller devices in the future. But a new study reveals that these 2D materials and their interfaces – which researchers intend to be flat when stacked on top of each other – may not, in fact, be flat. Read More Connect with us Received this email from a friend? Subscribe here. Privacy Policy Subscriber services: Manage Preferences  |  Unsubscribe  |  Help

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