National Physical Laboratory (NPL) news
A leap second will be introduced on 30 June 2012 following a decision made by the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service (IERS) earlier this year. This could potentially be one of the last ever leap seconds added, as a decision may be made in the next few years to abolish the practice.
Image courtesy of iStockphoto
Image courtesy of iStockphoto
Leap seconds are added to Co-ordinated Universal Time (UTC) to keep the time scale from atomic clocks within
An episode of the BBC World Service`s Elemental Economics series, focusing on the element caesium, featured scientists at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) speaking about the caesium fountain atomic clock and NPLTime®.
NPL`s Leon Lobo and Krzysztof Szymaniec explain some of the science behind the caesium fountain and why there is a need for such accurate timekeeping. The sh
As part of the appointment, Nick will continue his work with researchers in the University`s Advanced Technology Institute (ATI), including the establishment of a state-of-the-art joint Nonlinear Microwave Metrology Centre.
The Centre will facilitate collaborative research between the University and the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) in areas such as next-generation microwave power amplifiers and other high-frequency el
A planning application has been submitted for a new hydrogen storage and vehicle refuelling system at NPL, as part of a project backed by the Mayor of London to demonstrate hydrogen fuel cell cars.
An article in Materials World by Nabil Zahlan, head of
Siemens required a series of residual stress measurements to be carried out on a 2 m long steam turbine rotor shaft, designed for use in power plants. NPL`s new portable X-ray system, the Pulstec µ-x360, meant the Advanced Materials team was ideally placed to accept the measurement challenge.
The lifetime of a structural component is usually determined by interactions between defects within the component and the stresses it is exposed to. These stresses are a combination of thos