National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

It’s summer vacation! What (science) podcasts do you plan to listen to while you’re roadtripping, flying, or enjoying your afternoon at the pool?

Don’t even get us started on uncalibrated instruments.

During a fire, the safest exit is generally the closest one. But as a fire spreads, a nearby exit can become unsafe. NIST researchers have created a new AI model that can identify safe evacuation routes in a single-story floor plan during a fire. The model, called Safe Step, could someday be used with electronic displays in a building to show whether the exit is safe to use. Learn more about the model: https://lnkd.in/eJTgFYWb

Imagine a fleeting pool of molten metal. It’s tiny, just barely big enough to see. The temperature is hot enough to vaporize aluminum, and it’s only liquid for a fraction of a second. Now, how would you *stir* it? Researchers at NIST have found a way to whisk this tiny pool of metal with lasers, and they checked their work using one of the most powerful X-ray beams in the world. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/eD-B2F6p Photo Credit: Argonne National Laboratory

It’s all fun and games until someone gets a laser in the eye. A Colorado tabletop game tournament organizer noticed that players were using lasers in the game Warhammer 40,000, and a few of those beams wound up in people’s eyes, causing temporary impairment. So, he started researching the issue and consulted with NIST laser expert Joshua Hadler. Hadler offered some helpful tips to help gamers play more safely. Learn more in our latest Taking Measure blog post: https://lnkd.in/ecrV6mvr #Warhammer40K #LaserSafety

Who says scientists are sticks in the mud? But don't get it muddled with the real thing because SRM 2781 actually does exist! The SRM consists of a bottle containing 40 grams of dried, pulverized domestic sludge. Scientists use SRM 2781 to calibrate their tests for detecting heavy metals and organic pollutants in sewage sludge, which is sometimes used as fertilizer.

In one of its biggest-impact activities, NIST helps ensure that X-ray doses used for mammograms are high enough to detect signs of cancer but not so high that they create unnecessary radiation exposure. Even with the right X-ray dose, however, mammograms are often painful since they require breast compression. So a NIST researcher is working on an alternative to mammograms with low-field MRI machines that could potentially detect breast cancer accurately without requiring compression. This isn’t the only work that NIST is doing to fight cancer: Learn about other NIST measurements that could help cancer patients live healthier lives.

To broaden its support of collaborative research in artificial intelligence, NIST is extending the scope of an AI-focused consortium it founded two years ago and calling for new members. Formerly known as the AI Safety Institute Consortium (AISIC), the newly renamed NIST Artificial Intelligence Consortium will concentrate on AI measurement, innovation and adoption. Among other efforts, the group will focus on building an AI evaluation ecosystem, investing in AI-enabled science, and promoting the use of U.S.-developed AI technology and systems. In addition to expanding the consortium’s mission, NIST is inviting new member organizations to join the consortium. Find out how to submit a letter of interest at https://lnkd.in/egXwEKBv

Electric currents zip through the nerve cells in our brains carrying vital messages. Diseases such as epilepsy, multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer’s can alter those currents. Quantum sensors can measure the tiny magnetic fields created by neural currents. Today, this is done using bulky, expensive technology that needs to be chilled to almost absolute zero. But there's a new sensor in town. Magnetometers that use atoms to measure magnetic fields could make disease diagnosis cheaper, more accessible and less invasive for the patient. Using this new generation of quantum sensors, scientists hope to discover new ways to study, diagnose and eventually treat some of the most important brain diseases. Learn more about these amazing atomic sensors: https://lnkd.in/eHDa_iGQ Photo Credit: FieldLine Medical

Gone are the days of old, when humankind relied upon the trinkets of their time to define measurement. We no longer depend upon a tiny cylindrical mass in a Parisian vault to assign value to the kilogram. Physical meter bars now rest in display cases for educational purposes and historical preservation. Over time, the world’s scientific community has fixed the measurements upon which scientific advances rest, defining them in terms of universal constants of nature. Not sure what we mean? Look back with us at the SI redefinition: https://lnkd.in/d5nFrUy