national institute of standards and technology

Atomic dipoles on a lattice interact to produce an observable spatially varying frequency shift (shown as blue to red). Credit: Steven Burrows/Ye GroupIn groundbreaking research, JILA and NIST scientists have enhanced the understanding of atomic clock precision by studying cooperative Lamb shifts in strontium-87 atoms within a cubic lattice.In a new study published in the journal Science on January 25, JILA and NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) Fellow and University of Colorado Boulder physics…

Researchers at NIST studied the emission of VOCs from live Christmas trees and their interaction with ozone. They found that monoterpenes are the primary VOCs emitted, which decrease over time and react with ozone to form low levels of formaldehyde. The study concludes that Christmas trees have a minimal impact on indoor air quality for most people. Credit: SciTechDaily.comLive Christmas trees release chemicals called volatile organic compounds (VOCs).Some of those VOCs can react with ozone, a reactive gas, to produce…

The Biden Administration is working alongside tech companies to put in place a cybersecuritycertification and labeling program on participating smart devices. Google, Amazon, Samsung, and Best Buy are among those who will be implementing labels on their devices to indicate they are less vulnerable to cyberattacks.Teenage Cybercrime Gang LAPSUS$ Strikes AgainThe Federal Communications Commission is filing a national trademark application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office which would inform and urge consumers to…

Photo: Win McNamee (Getty Images)Generating Video Via Text? | Future TechTakeaways:A new federal agency to regulate AI sounds helpful but could become unduly influenced by the tech industry. Instead, Congress can legislate accountability.Instead of licensing companies to release advanced AI technologies, the government could license auditors and push for companies to set up institutional review boards.The government hasn’t had great success in curbing technology monopolies, but disclosure requirements and data privacy…

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of a solar flare on January 9, 2023.Image: NASA/SDOEarth’s host star can be quite temperamental, compelling astronomers to launch satellites and probes on missions to keep a close watch of the Sun’s massive flares. But instruments pointed towards the Sun have a tendency to acquire cloudy vision as the result of a mysterious layer that’s puzzled scientists for years.Instruments on board NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), which has been observing the Sun since…

The US Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has signed a cooperative research and development agreement with Google to develop chips for researchers. The chips that researchers use in the development of new nanotechnology and semiconductor device will be manufactured by SkyWater Technology. The Alphabet-owned company will pay for the initial cost of setting up production and subsidise the first production run. The announcement comes shortly after the US passed the CHIPS and…

The US Commerce Department said it reached a cooperative research and development agreement with Alphabet Inc's Google to produce chips that researchers can use to develop new nanotechnology and semiconductor devices. The deal was signed between the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Google. The chips will be manufactured by semiconductor company SkyWater Technology at its Bloomington, Minnesota, semiconductor foundry, the department said. Read Also Google will pay the initial…

Photo: CHRIS DELMAS/AFP (Getty Images)It turns out that breaking an encryption algorithm meant to withstand the most powerful cyberattacks imaginable might not be as tough as we’d been led to believe. In a paper published over the weekend, researchers demonstrated that a PC with a single-core processor (weaker than a decent laptop) could break a “post-quantum” algorithm that had been a contender to be the gold standard for encryption in just one hour.Last month, The National Institute of Standards and Technology, or NIST,…

Photo: CHRIS DELMAS/AFP (Getty Images)This week, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announced the winners of a global competition to create new encryption standards. Somewhat mind-bogglingly, these algorithms have been designed to defend against a cyber threat that doesn’t even exist yet: quantum computers.For the most part, today’s popular encryption standards are very strong and difficult to defeat. Powered by complex mathematical equations that normal computers can’t crack, encryption keeps your…

View of the biometric facial recognition system in front of a security checkpoint in the departure area of Hamburg Airport. Photo: Marcus Brandt (AP)A group of House lawmakers charged with investigating the implications of biometric surveillance empaneled three experts Wednesday to testify about the future of facial recognition and other tools widely employed by the U.S. government with little regard for citizens’ privacy.The experts described a country—and a world—that is being saturated with biometric sensors. Hampered…