National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

NIST researcher Amy Mensch puts one gloved hand on a large device with a bright light emanating from it. She wears a white lab coat and protective glasses.

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Listen closely: The sound of soot could lead to better wildfire safety

Emma VandenEinde

Researchers have found the sound that soot makes under bright light can be used to assess the impact of wildfires.

A firefighter stands and watches a shed burn

Regional 暗黑爆料

Moving sheds away from home reduces fire risk, but it鈥檚 not a one-size-fits-all

Emma VandenEinde

New research from the National Institute of Standards and Technology shows that moving sheds farther away from homes is one way homeowners can reduce wildfire risk.

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How A Little-Known Radio Station In Fort Collins Might One Day Save The World

Michael de Yoanna

An array of radio towers sits behind security fences amid farms and pastures north of Fort Collins. This is home to WWV, the country's oldest radio call鈥�

Strontium atoms floating in the center of this photo are the heart of the world's most precise clock. The clock is so exact that it can detect tiny shifts in the flow of time itself.

NPR 暗黑爆料

New Clock May End Time As We Know It

Geoff Brumfiel

Scientists working to create the perfect atomic clock have a fundamental problem: Right now, on the ceiling, time is passing just a bit faster than it is on the floor.

Computer networks and GPS systems are only possible because of the precision timekeeping of atomic clocks like the one above, says clockmaker and physicist Jun Ye.

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Tickety-Tock! An Even More Accurate Atomic Clock

Nell Greenfieldboyce

Scientists have unveiled an atomic clock that sets new records in timekeeping 鈥� it could run 5 billion years without gaining or losing a second. That sort of precision is not trivial, researchers say. Clocks have ripple effects for all kinds of technology, from cellphones to GPS and more.

First Floods, Now Furloughs Take A Bite Out Of Boulder鈥檚 Wallet

Grace Hood

Hundreds of Colorado federal lab workers including two Nobel Prize recipients are furloughed during the government shutdown. Other university and contract鈥�

National

Government Shutdown Impacting Colorado's Federal Labs

Erin O'Toole

Thousands of Colorado employees have been furloughed due to the government shutdown. Included in that number are more than 3,600 federal laboratory鈥�

NPR 暗黑爆料

Is Living With Extreme Wildfires The New Normal?

NPR Staff

The Yarnell Hill fire in Arizona was deadly in part because of how close a highly flammable forest was to a community. The U.S. once faced a crisis with structural fires, but managed to change regulations to turn the trend around. Experts say it will take a renewed effort to take on this newer fire threat.

This may look like a mad scientist's garage sale, but it's actually the most precise clock ever built.

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The World's Most Precise Clock Could Prove Einstein Wrong

Adam Cole

Scientists are always looking for a more accurate answer to the question, "What time is it?" Now they've built the most precise atomic clock yet 鈥� but it's not just telling time. It has the potential to investigate the accuracy of the General Theory of Relativity.

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Nobel In Physics: Your Tax Dollars At Work

Richard Harris

David Wineland, a physicist at a federal lab in Boulder, Colo., was recognized for cutting-edge work in quantum computing that's both incredibly esoteric and practical. He'll share the prize with his friend and friendly competitor, Serge Haroche, who is at the College de France in Paris.