Discover

Share

Download

Features

/

Article

NBS moves to Gaithersburg

NOV 01, 1966

Although some retire at age 65, the National Bureau of Standards is more active than ever. At its new home, being dedicated this month some 2700 people will be working. Most of the equipment and staff have already left the crowded, obsolete Washington site and occupy 15 of the buildings planned.

DOI: 10.1063/1.3047813

Gloria B. Lubkin

THIS MONTH the world’s largest physical science laboratory, the National Bureau of Standards, is dedicating its new facility at Gaithersburg, Maryland. We recently visited the 565‐acre site, to which most of the activities formerly housed on Van Ness Street in northwest Washington have been moved. In addition three major new facilities for which the old site was unsuited have been completed in Gaithersburg. These are a high‐intensity 100‐MeV electron linear accelerator (linac), a 10‐megawatt heavy‐water‐moderated reactor for materials research and a collection of highly accurate deadweight machines to calibrate force‐measuring devices.

This article is only available in PDF format

© 1966 American Institute of Physics

Physics Today is looking for a Senior Editor. Apply Now.

Related content

Features

/

Article

Black holes aren’t black

A half century after the discovery of Hawking radiation, we are still dealing with the quantum puzzle it exposed.

March 26, 2026 12:23 PM

Features

/

Article

How the twist of a molecule affects electron spin

Since the discovery was first reported in 1999, researchers have uncovered many aspects of the chiral-induced spin selectivity effect, but its underlying mechanisms remain unclear.

March 11, 2026 09:55 AM

Features

/

Article

Quantum-based standards for pressure measurements

Metrologists are using fundamental physics to define units of measure. Now NIST has developed new quantum sensors to measure and realize the pascal.

March 06, 2026 03:02 PM

Features

/

Article

Magnetic skyrmions: A new frontier for quantum computing

Nanoscale, topologically protected whirlpools of spins have the potential to move from applications in spintronics into quantum science.

February 11, 2026 03:04 PM

This Content Appeared In

Volume 19, Number 11

Get PT newsletters in your inbox

PT The Week in Physics

A collection of PT's content from the previous week delivered every Monday.

One email per week

PT New Issue Alert

Be notified about the new issue with links to highlights and the full TOC.

One email per month

PT Webinars & White Papers

The latest webinars, white papers and other informational resources.

1 to 2 emails per week