Webtagr - Technology News Summarizer

NIST Creates World's Most Accurate Atomic Clock: 19 Decimal Places of Precision

2025-07-16

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed the world's most accurate atomic clock, based on a trapped aluminum ion, achieving an astounding 19 decimal places of precision. This breakthrough, built on 20 years of continuous improvement, boasts 41% greater accuracy and 2.6 times the stability of previous records. The team cleverly paired the aluminum ion with magnesium, using 'quantum logic spectroscopy' to overcome the challenges of controlling aluminum ions. Further improvements involved redesigning the ion trap and vacuum chamber to address issues like excess micromotion and hydrogen gas interference. The use of an ultra-stable laser from JILA further enhanced precision. This achievement paves the way for redefining the second and exploring new frontiers in quantum physics, potentially even allowing for measurements of changes in fundamental constants of nature.

(www.nist.gov)

Tech

NIST-F4: A Clock More Accurate Than the Age of Dinosaurs

2025-04-30

NIST's new cesium fountain clock, NIST-F4, is one of the world's most accurate timekeepers. If it had been running since the dinosaurs roamed the Earth, it would be off by less than a second today. This breakthrough in atomic clock technology will help calibrate official US time and contribute to the global Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), ensuring accuracy in critical systems like finance, telecommunications, and transportation. The achievement solidifies NIST's leading role in precision timekeeping.

(www.nist.gov)

Tech time measurement

Evaluating the Hijacking Risk of AI Agents: Adversarial Testing Reveals Vulnerabilities

2025-03-16

The US AI Safety Institute (US AISI) evaluated the risk of AI agent hijacking using the AgentDojo framework, testing Anthropic's Claude 3.5 Sonnet model. Key findings highlight the need for continuous improvement of evaluation frameworks, adaptive evaluations to account for evolving attack methods, and the importance of analyzing task-specific attack success rates. The study introduced new attack scenarios like remote code execution, database exfiltration, and automated phishing, demonstrating their effectiveness across different environments. This research underscores the need for iterative improvements in AI security evaluation frameworks to address the ever-evolving threat of AI agent hijacking.

(www.nist.gov)

AI Agent Hijacking

NIST Selects Backup Quantum-Resistant Encryption Algorithm

2025-03-11

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has chosen HQC as a backup algorithm to its already standardized ML-KEM for post-quantum cryptography. HQC, based on error-correcting codes, offers a second line of defense against future quantum computers, using a different mathematical approach than the lattice-based ML-KEM. While ML-KEM remains the recommended choice for general encryption, HQC provides crucial redundancy in case vulnerabilities are discovered in ML-KEM. NIST plans to release a draft standard for HQC in about a year, with finalization expected in 2027.

(www.nist.gov)

Tech

Optical Frequency Combs: A Ruler for Light

2025-01-30

Optical frequency combs, Nobel Prize-winning technology, act like a ruler for light, precisely measuring the frequencies of light waves across the electromagnetic spectrum. This revolutionary technology bridges the gap between radio/microwave and optical frequencies, enabling advancements in atomic clocks, astronomy, atmospheric science, and even medical diagnostics. NIST scientists are at the forefront of this field, continuously improving the accuracy and miniaturization of these devices. Future applications include integration into microchips for broader commercial use.

(www.nist.gov)

Tech optical frequency combs atomic clocks precision measurement

NIST's Standard Reference Peanut Butter: It's Not What You Think

2025-01-27

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) doesn't just develop high-tech products; it also creates standard reference materials, like peanut butter. Sounds odd, but NIST's peanut butter isn't for eating. It helps food manufacturers accurately label nutritional information, ensuring food safety and consistency. By testing NIST's peanut butter, manufacturers can calibrate their testing methods and equipment, guaranteeing accuracy on product labels. NIST offers many standard reference materials across various fields, from food to pharmaceuticals, contributing to safer and more reliable products for consumers.

(www.nist.gov)

Tech Standard Reference Material Food Safety

Major Breakthrough in Nuclear Clock Technology Promises Ultraprecise Timekeeping

2024-12-13

An international research team led by scientists at JILA, a joint institute of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Colorado Boulder, has made a significant advance in developing a novel nuclear clock. Nuclear clocks use energy transitions within an atom's nucleus to measure time, promising greater accuracy and resistance to external disturbances compared to atomic clocks. The team used a specially designed ultraviolet laser to precisely measure the frequency of an energy jump in thorium nuclei and an optical frequency comb to count the cycles. This breakthrough paves the way for more precise navigation, faster internet speeds, and advancements in fundamental physics research, potentially even aiding in the detection of dark matter or verifying the constancy of nature's constants.

(www.nist.gov)

Tech nuclear clock ultraprecise timekeeping physics