While the new calibration service for phasor measurement units (PMUs) offered by the National Institute of Standards and Technology sounds like it would appeal to "Star Trek" fans, it’s actually the operators of America’s electrical power grid—and all of us who value uninterrupted current—who benefit.
The new NIST service provides calibrations for the instruments that measure the magnitude and phase of voltage and current signals in a power system—a combined mathematical entity called a phasor—and report the data in terms of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC, also known as “the official world atomic time”).
Use of absolute time enables measurements called phase angles taken at one location on a power grid to be comparable to others across different systems. Phase angles and their derivations allow grid managers to know the operating condition of their portion of the system and determine if action is needed to prevent a power blackout.
The new NIST calibration service has already yielded two additional benefits. First, a major PMU manufacturer reports that using the calibrations during the manufacture of its instruments has improved their accuracy by a factor of five. Secondly, some PMUs that have been calibrated using the NIST service have revealed incompatibilities in the message format they send out, leading to corrections that have improved interoperability between PMUs across power grids.
Source: National Institute of Standards and Technology
Related stories:
Joint Quantum Institute Created by University of Maryland, NIST and NSA
Today, the University of Maryland (UM), the Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the National Security Agency (NSA) announced the creation of a joint research institute designed to advance quantum physics research—deciphering the secrets of nature at the submicroscopic scale—and to exploit this knowledge to transform quantum technology from an exciting promise to practical reality.
New NIST Method Improves Accuracy of Spectrometers
Measurements of the intensity of light at different wavelengths can be made more accurately now, thanks to a new, simple method for correcting common instrument errors. The new method, developed by researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), will benefit fields such as color measurement, lighting development, remote sensing, biotechnology and astronomy.
UM Nanotech Center Gaining National Recognition
The University of Maryland today announced the opening of its new Maryland Center for Integrated Nano Science and Engineering (M-CINSE) in the recently completed Jeong H. Kim Engineering Building. Yet, even before its official introduction, the new center's name already was being "dropped" in important places.
New Way of Connection: 'Grid Computing' to Solve Insoluble
By connecting
hundreds or even thousands of computers together to work on a single project, computer scientists are more frequently using a technique called
grid computing to do previously intractable computations.
Latest warning highlights dangers of microwaving
(AP) -- Zapping frozen meals in the microwave may be fast and easy, but it also can make you sick if it's not done properly.
Obama has huge lead over McCain -- in cyberspace
If the US presidential election was being held in cyberspace, Barack Obama would win in a landslide. The Democratic candidate has raised tens of millions of dollars more than Republican John McCain online and proven much more savvy overall at harnessing the power of the Internet, according to political and Web analysts.
AP Investigation: Ike environmental toll apparent
(AP) -- Hurricane Ike's winds and massive waves destroyed oil platforms, tossed storage tanks and punctured pipelines. The environmental damage only now is becoming apparent: At least a half million gallons of crude oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico and the marshes, bayous and bays of Louisiana and Texas, according to an analysis of federal data by The Associated Press.
Which grass is greener to power the bioenergy era?
(PhysOrg.com) -- Talk about a field of dreams. Cornell bioenergy plant experts are learning which field grasses are the best candidates for "dedicated energy" crops in the Northeast, considering the region's climate and soil conditions.