(NIST: Gaithersburg, MD) -- Do you hold the key to solving some gadget mysteries from the last century of U.S. science and technology? During its 110 years, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has made many innovations in the way we measure things, from basic quantities like the volt and nanometer to specialized questions like the purity of sugar.

A new website, the NIST Digital Archives is exhibiting images of historically significant scientific instruments used to obtain these measures, in addition to providing access to full-text publications from the agency’s history. (To end the suspense, you measure sugar with a saccharimeter.) NIST is inviting enthusiasts to participate in describing some of the hundreds of historical objects collected through the decades. Some of the artifacts are unidentified or need more descriptive information. Visitors to the site can view the items and offer clues about the history and origins of some of these important artifacts.

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