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Tag archives: metrology
12 things we learned about the National Physical Laboratory
Hands-on physics – Sarah Tesh with a replica of the device used to measure temperature at the National Physical Laboratory
By Matin Durrani and Sarah Tesh
Here at Physics World we’re planning to publish special issues later this year on time (in July) and on SI units and measurement (in November). So to find out more about the latest work in these fields, we decided to accept a long-standing invitation to visit the National Physical Laboratory in Teddington, just outside London, yesterday.
The NPL is the UK’s national measurement laboratory and, as we found out on our visit yesterday, it’s home to almost 900 staff. Or, to be precise, there are 879 staff – after all, accuracy is the name of the game for the NPL, which provides vital measurement services to industry and plays a key part in global attempts to revise the SI measurement system.
It was a busy day for us and we came away with some useful ideas for possible articles for those two Physics World special issues. But rather than giving you a detailed run-down of everything we saw, here instead are 12 “fun” facts we picked up during our visit. Sometimes it’s those little details that make lab visits so intriguing.
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Celebrating Louis Essen and the birth of atomic time
Peter Knight (left) and John Dudley unveiling the historic plaque.
By Hamish Johnston
On Friday I braved the torrential rains that have been soaking southern England to make the journey from Bristol to Teddington, which is the birthplace of the atomic clock. Situated in the leafy suburbs west of London on the swollen banks of the River Thames, Teddington is the home of the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), which is the UK’s standards and metrology lab.
