These stainless-steel beads form a powder that is over six times finer than flour, meaning each individual particle is too small to see with the naked eye. Powders like this are the basic building material of a type of metal 3D printing called "laser powder bed fusion" or (PBF-LB).
It works by spreading out a thin layer of metal powder and using a powerful laser to melt the powder together into a specific shape. Then the process continues by laying down a fresh layer of powder on top and repeating.
Each layer is leveled off by a wiper. It’s like the way you might level off a cup of flour with the back of a knife.
To make a good 3D-printed part, it's important that the powder is spread in an even, consistent way. Now, thanks to NIST research, we can watch the powder spreading and study its behavior. This work will improve the consistency and quality of metal 3D printed parts.
We're mapping out the chemical makeup of the illicit drug landscape in near real-time through NIST's Rapid Drug Analysis and Research (RaDAR) program. Our researchers work with local, state and federal partners to provide quick, comprehensive and actionable data to address a rapidly evolving public health crisis.
With this data, it's possible to track new substances of concern (such as animal tranquilizers used as cutting agents) as they enter the supply in one area of the country and estimate when they might reach another area. Making public health professionals aware of what's coming can make a difference in how they treat patients entering health clinics and hospitals.
The measurement work by NIST is done in this laboratory. Here, we use instruments called direct analysis in real time mass spectrometers (DART-MS) to analyze drug residue samples. The black tubes are portable snorkels, which suck in the vapors generated during the DART-MS analyses to keep our researchers safe from possible exposure.
Building safety tip for wildfire: Clear the area around your home of combustible objects. It’s a straightforward step to keep your home safer from wildfire.
NIST research has found that trash cans, sheds, and vegetation can create a pathway for flames, making it more likely that a fire will spread to your home.
May is Building Safety Month, so we’ll be highlighting people and research here at NIST that help keep the buildings around us safe.
#BuildingSafety365
Scientists at NIST could soon do for light what the silicon chip did for electronics. Researchers have developed a method to build complex circuits for light on a chip the size of a fingernail.
Think of it like a high-tech layer cake. By stacking specialized materials, scientists can turn a single laser color into a full rainbow of light, controlling it all on a tiny scale.
This advancement could lead to better navigation by using portable atomic clocks that don't rely on satellites. It could help build faster and more powerful AI and virtual reality displays. And it could boost quantum computers that could help discover new drugs and materials.
The next big leap in radio communication might not be a bigger antenna. It could be a “giant” atom.
Quantum scientists use lasers to super-size atoms to the width of a human hair. These “Rydberg” atoms become extremely sensitive to electric fields that make up radio waves.
Why does this matter? These atomic antennas are ultra-compact; no massive towers required. They’re broadband, able to “hear” frequencies from near zero to 1 terahertz. They are highly accurate out of the box, as their operation is based on the fundamental laws of physics.
From quantum radar to mapping Earth’s vegetation to more secure communications, quantum sensing could transform how we send and receive information.
Welcome to the Hollings Marine Laboratory (HML) in Charleston, South Carolina.
The HML is owned by @noaa , but it houses staff from NOAA, NIST, the College of Charleston, the Medical University of South Carolina, and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.
The HML is a world-class research facility where scientists are researching factors that affect the health of coastal waters and humans who live in or visit the coastal zone. It is also home to the NIST Biorepository.
Gravity keeps our feet on the ground, holds planets in orbit around the Sun, and shapes galactic clusters to weave the web of the universe. But its strength, expressed as the universal gravitational constant, or “big G,” is not exactly known. In fact, even after more than two centuries of measurements, big G remains the least well-known of the fundamental constants of nature.
A new measurement of big G by NIST scientists, which is the culmination of ten years of painstaking study and analysis, only deepens the mystery.
Muck around and find out.
Domestic sludge is the muck collected at wastewater treatment plants. It can contain all kinds of contaminants, from antibiotics and pesticides to oils and heavy metals.
The sludge in this material was collected from a sewer plant that treats local or domestic waste in Denver, Colorado. NIST scientists freeze-dried it, ground it into a fine, homogenized powder, and analyzed it to create a standard reference material called NIST SRM 2781 Domestic Sludge.
Why does NIST have it in the first place? Science, obviously. Once sterilized, domestic sludge can be used as a soil fertilizer. But high concentrations of heavy metals, like lead and arsenic, in domestic sludge can also contaminate soil, potentially impacting the food chain. So, when scientists test their sterilized sludge samples for heavy metals, they need to make sure they’re getting accurate results.
Labs use the SRM for quality control to help make sure heavy metal concentrations fall within established standard levels set by the EPA.
The winner of Materials Mayhem is...Radioactive Human Lung!
This standard reference material (SRM) is primarily used as a quality control material to determine the accuracy of the measurements of radioactivity in the human body.
When a radiation contamination incident occurs (such as in Chernobyl or Fukushima), doctors use models and calibrate instruments based on this SRM to precisely measure how much radiation a victim has absorbed and where it is located in their body, allowing for more effective medical treatment.
You can learn more about SRM 4351 at the link in our bio.
