Lasers shine as part of an advanced atomic clock at NIST. Precise measurements of the colors of light emitted by atoms are essential to everything from atomic clocks to medical devices. N. Phillips/NIST
The Trump administration is planning to close a small, obscure laboratory whose work undergirds everything from microchip manufacturing to nuclear fusion.
The Atomic Spectroscopy Group at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) provides the definitive measurements of atomic spectra. Spectra are specific sets of colors emitted by different atomic elements. Those sets of colors act as atomic fingerprints that are used to characterize