National Physical Laboratory (NPL) is the national measurement standards laboratory for the United Kingdom, based at Bushy Park in Teddington, London. It is the largest applied physics organisation in the UK.
NPL was established in 1900 as the National Physical Laboratory of Great Britain by a group of eminent physicists from universities and industry who were concerned about maintaining British scientific competitiveness after First World War. The first director was William Lawrence Bragg. From its beginnings, NPL has had close links with both academia and industry.
The laboratory’s activities encompass four main areas: applied science, technical services, scientific research and dissemination of good practice. NPL provides calibration and other metrological services to customers across a wide range of industries including aerospace, construction, electronics, energy, healthcare and telecommunications. In addition to running an extensive programme of basic research in measurement science supported by government funding bodies such as Innovate UK (formerly known as the Technology Strategy Board), EPSRC and BBSRC, NPL also manages a portfolio of work on behalf of government departments such as BEIS (Department for Business Energy & Industrial Strategy), DSTL (Defence Science & Technology Laboratory) and NHS England which tackles specific challenges faced by those organisations.
One example is our work on improving air quality measurements which helps local authorities to assess whether they are meeting European Union directives on air quality; another is our development of novel radiation detection materials that can be used in medical imaging or homeland security applications. Our researchers also develop new ways to measure very low levels of chemicals in air or water – this could be used to monitor environmental pollution or check food safety standards, for example.
In recent years we have seen a growing demand for our expert advice on issues related to climate change and energy efficiency. As a result we have developed an extensive programme of work in these areas which includes measuring greenhouse gas emissions from power stations and industrial plants, developing methods for monitoring energy use in buildings and investigating how changes in land use affect carbon dioxide uptake by vegetation. We are also working on projects that aim to improve understanding of how the Earth’s climate might respond to increasing levels atmospheric CO2 ,for instance by measuring changes in cloud cover or sea level rise .