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Welcome to the home of measurement
Teddington railway station has just erected signs welcoming passengers to the home of measurement.
The National Physical Laboratory (NPL) at Teddington was founded in 1900 'for standardising and verifying instruments, for testing materials, and for the determination of physical constants.' It is one of the oldest standardising laboratories in the world.
In 1902, HRH the Prince of Wales, the future King George V, officially opened the National Physical Laboratory, stating:
'I believe that in the National Physical Laboratory we have the first instance of the State taking part in scientific research. The object of the scheme is, I understand, to bring scientific knowledge to bear practically on our everyday industrial and commercial life; to break down the barrier between theory and practice; to effect a union between science and commerce.'
The site at Teddington was originally conceived as an extension of Kew Observatory, which was situated in Old Deer Park at Richmond. For the first 18 years of its existence, NPL was under the control of the Royal Society.
Since its establishment, the research work at NPL has included all branches of physics, light, electricity and magnetism, radio communication, engineering, metallurgy, aeronautics and ship design. Many of Britain's most renowned scientists have been involved in work at NPL, including Alan Turing, Donald Davies, Louis Essen and Robert Watson-Watt.
Some of the most notable achievements carried out at NPL include the invention of the Automatic Computer Engine (ACE), packet switching, the atomic clock and radar.
Find out more about the people at NPL and our history
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