Force metrology

News and Updates

A Billion Tiny Pendulums Could Detect the Universe’s Missing Mass

October 13, 2020

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and their colleagues have proposed a novel method for finding dark matter, the cosmos’s

Atomic ‘Swiss Army Knife’ Precisely Measures Materials for Quantum Computers

July 6, 2020

It images single atoms. It maps atomic-scale hills and valleys on metal and insulating surfaces. And it records the flow of current across atom-thin materials

Avoiding the Crack of Doom

February 25, 2019

Just as a journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step, the deformations and fractures that cause catastrophic failure in materials begin with a few

Industry Impacts

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

Accurate Calibration of Atomic Force Microscope Cantilever Spring Constants using Laser Doppler Vibrometry

The application of atomic force microscopy to go beyond topographic imaging and accurately measure nanomechanical properties of materials often depends on being

Dynamic Mechanical Metrology: Acceleration, Force, and Acoustics

The Dynamic Mechanical Metrology Project develops methods to provide accuracy in, and provides calibration services for, acoustic, vibration, acceleration, and

Publications

High amplification laser-pressure optic enables ultra-low uncertainty measurements of optical laser power at kilowatt levels

October 15, 2021

Author(s)

Aly Artusio-Glimpse, Kyle Rogers, Paul A. Williams, John H. Lehman

We present the first measurements of kilowatt laser power with an uncertainty less than 1 %. These represent progress toward the most accurate measurements of

Scaling of Mass and Force Using Electrical Metrology

May 3, 2021

Author(s)

Gordon Shaw

The impending redefinition of the International System of Units (SI) allows realization of the kilogram using electrical metrology. It can be shown that

Comparison of electrostatic and photon pressure force references at the nanonewton level

May 3, 2021

Author(s)

Gordon Shaw, John A. Kramar, Paul Williams, Matthew Spidell, Richard Mirin, Julian Stirling

This work describes a comparison between nanonewton force references derived from an electrostatic force balance and photon pressure force from calibrated laser

Three Phase-Grating Moire Neutron Interferometer for Large InterferometerArea Applications

April 21, 2021

Author(s)

Michael G. Huber, D. Sarenac, D. A. Pushin, Houxun Miao, Daniel S. Hussey, D G. Cory, Muhammad D. Arif, David L. Jacobson, Jacob LaManna, Ben Heacock

We demonstrate a three phase-grating neutron interferometer as a robust candidate for large area interferometry applications and characterization of materials