Physicists at JILA, a joint venture of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Colorado at Boulder, have created the first “frequency comb” in the extreme ultraviolet band of the spectrum, high-energy light less than 100 nanometers (nm) in wavelength. Laser-generated frequency combs are the most accurate method available for precisely measuring frequencies, or colors, of light.

If you combine tough economic times with a presidential election year, you get a heightened interest in how the economy is changing. Is it growing faster or slowing down? Unsurprisingly, there are many contradictory predictions about what will happen over the longer term. You’ll find countless TV pundits pushing their opinions.

When the parts you manufacture pass through numerous processes such as deep hole drilling, machining, hobbing and grinding, and coating, a coordinate measuring machine (CMM) is essential when your customers require 100-percent in-process and final inspection.

Like most industries, the manufacturing sector is transforming rapidly. Because of recent technological advances and globalization, U.S. manufacturing is facing intense international competition, increasing market volatility and complexity, a declining workforce, and a host of other challenges. Yet we know that in order to have a strong economy, we need a strong manufacturing base. So what’s the answer?

It can take anywhere from six weeks to six months to build a 2,800-square-foot, two-story house in the United States, mostly because human beings do all the work. Within the next five years, chances are that 3-D printing (also known by the less catchy but more inclusive term additive manufacturing) will have become so advanced that we will be able to upload design specifications to a massive robot, press print, and watch as it spits out a concrete house in less than a day. Plenty of humans will be there, but just to ogle.

The National Park Service and CyArk have started the new year with the launch of the much anticipated Mount Rushmore website, a new way to virtually visit the National Memorial near Keystone, South Dakota. This web portal is part of an ongoing partnership between the National Park Service (NPS) and CyArk, and it will be continually added to as more media is created over the upcoming months.

When Microsoft’s Kinect—a device that lets Xbox users control games with physical gestures—hit the market, computer scientists immediately began hacking it.

Inspired by the popularity of up-close recreational experiences in the land of 10,000 lakes, a Minnesota company has figured out how to design and manufacture a unique line of small, electrically powered watercraft. However, the company had a manufacturing problem: The small fiberglass boat was designed and prototyped by hand, which meant that it was not totally uniform and symmetrical.

A Quality Digest reader wrote in asking for techniques to evaluate touch-trigger probes for accuracy. Specifically, he asked how someone can evaluate touch probes and magnetic modules for wear, or to determine if they have been damaged as the result of a collision or being dropped. He wanted to be able to recognize when to replace worn equipment when necessary, but also avoid replacing equipment that is still good. Finally, he asked how to do all this without specialized equipment or expertise.

With a random-looking spatter of paint specks, a pair of cameras, and a whole lot of computer processing, engineer Mark Iadicola of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has been helping the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), in cooperation with the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), to ensure the safety of hundreds of truss bridges across the United States.