Precision Measurement at JILA

Precision measurement plays a key role in most of JILA's scientific investigations. New techniques and technologies are allowing researchers to probe tiny structures inside living cells; to study the properties of ultracold matter; to monitor the dynamics of chemical reactions; to more directly measure the frequency of visible light and other short wavelength electromagnetic radiation; to study the behavior of electrons in semiconductors; and to investigate other phenomena heretofore too small or too fast to "see," much less precisely quantify. Precision measurement research at JILA falls into four broad areas: precision optical metrology, measurements of fundamental parameters, atomic clocks, and ultrasensitive devices.