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Research facility · London · United Kingdom

National Physical Laboratory

In research, National Physical Laboratory stands highest in Physical Sciences (#1,485 of 10,670 worldwide), Engineering (#1,107 of 5,901 worldwide) and Electrical and Electronic Engineering (#711 of 2,176 worldwide), 2022-now. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Radiation, Statistics, Probability and Uncertainty and Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics (Radiation is 25.5× its share of world research).

npl.co.ukROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022-now
#3,010
of 22,385 · #1,614 all time
Rank in United Kingdom
#155
of 862
Research works
10k
◆ 2% vs 2018-21
Citations
262k
26.2 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
8.9%
all institutions 10.0%
vs its own fields
0.95×
1.00× is exactly expected
Open access
18%
world 40%
International
22%
world 18%
National Physical Laboratory

What is National Physical Laboratory known for in research?

The fields where it stands highest, 2022-now, ranked among every institution above the floor in each field.

FieldWorld rankWhere that sitsTop-10% rateWorksAll time
Physical SciencesDomain #1,485 of 10,670 8.9%572 #949
EngineeringField #1,107 of 5,901 8.2%268 #598
Electrical and Electronic EngineeringSubfield #711 of 2,176 9.1%110 #698
Physics and AstronomyField #867 of 1,417 9.7%94 #609

Each strip is that field's whole ranked pool, with the notch where National Physical Laboratory sits in it, in the colour of the band that rank falls in. The track under the rate is the rate itself: it carries no average mark, because the average differs by field (from about 6% in Dentistry to 21% in Economics).

Which of those standings moved

The same fields on both windows: where it stood over the whole record, and where it stands in 2022-now. The distance is the story, and it is the one thing the two rank columns above cannot show.

  1. Physical Sciences#949 #1,485
  2. Engineering#598 #1,107
  3. Electrical and Electronic Engineering#698 #711
  4. Physics and Astronomy#609 #867
all time2022-now, better2022-now, worse

A dot further right is a better standing. Fields it was not ranked in over the whole record are left out.

Which fields of science does National Physical Laboratory work in?

In 2022-now, 82% of research at National Physical Laboratory is in Physical Sciences, 8% in Health Sciences. Its largest fields are Engineering (37%), Physics and Astronomy (13%), Computer Science (7%). It does 2.1× the world's share of Physical Sciences.

Physical Sciences: 630 fractional works · 81.6% of its workEngineering: 289 fractional works · 37.5% of its workElectrical and Electronic Engineering: 118 fractional works · 15.3% of its workBiomedical Engineering: 43 fractional works · 5.6% of its workAerospace Engineering: 26 fractional works · 3.4% of its workMechanical Engineering: 25 fractional works · 3.2% of its workMechanics of Materials: 20 fractional works · 2.6% of its workAutomotive Engineering: 17 fractional works · 2.2% of its workCivil and Structural Engineering: 9 fractional works · 1.1% of its workComputational Mechanics: 8 fractional works · 1.1% of its workControl and Systems Engineering: 8 fractional works · 1.0% of its workOcean Engineering: 4 fractional works · 0.6% of its workSafety, Risk, Reliability and Quality: 4 fractional works · 0.5% of its workIndustrial and Manufacturing Engineering: 3 fractional works · 0.4% of its workMedia Technology: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workPhysics and Astronomy: 104 fractional works · 13.4% of its workAtomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics: 58 fractional works · 7.5% of its workRadiation: 27 fractional works · 3.5% of its workAstronomy and Astrophysics: 5 fractional works · 0.7% of its workCondensed Matter Physics: 5 fractional works · 0.6% of its workStatistical and Nonlinear Physics: 4 fractional works · 0.5% of its workNuclear and High Energy Physics: 3 fractional works · 0.4% of its workInstrumentation: 2 fractional works · 0.2% of its workComputer Science: 57 fractional works · 7.4% of its workArtificial Intelligence: 25 fractional works · 3.3% of its workComputer Networks and Communications: 12 fractional works · 1.6% of its workComputer Vision and Pattern Recognition: 8 fractional works · 1.0% of its workSignal Processing: 4 fractional works · 0.6% of its workInformation Systems: 4 fractional works · 0.5% of its workComputational Theory and Mathematics: 2 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 2 fractional works · 0.2% of its workMaterials Science: 56 fractional works · 7.2% of its workMaterials Chemistry: 34 fractional works · 4.4% of its workElectronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials: 8 fractional works · 1.0% of its workSurfaces, Coatings and Films: 6 fractional works · 0.8% of its workPolymers and Plastics: 3 fractional works · 0.3% of its workMetals and Alloys: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workBiomaterials: 2 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 2 fractional works · 0.2% of its workEnvironmental Science: 52 fractional works · 6.8% of its workGlobal and Planetary Change: 18 fractional works · 2.3% of its workEnvironmental Engineering: 12 fractional works · 1.6% of its workEcology: 7 fractional works · 0.9% of its workHealth, Toxicology and Mutagenesis: 7 fractional works · 0.9% of its workPollution: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workIndustrial and Manufacturing Engineering: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 4 fractional works · 0.5% of its workChemistry: 26 fractional works · 3.4% of its workSpectroscopy: 14 fractional works · 1.9% of its workAnalytical Chemistry: 6 fractional works · 0.7% of its workOrganic Chemistry: 2 fractional works · 0.2% of its workPhysical and Theoretical Chemistry: 2 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 3 fractional works · 0.4% of its workEarth and Planetary Sciences: 26 fractional works · 3.4% of its workAtmospheric Science: 15 fractional works · 1.9% of its workOceanography: 5 fractional works · 0.6% of its workGeophysics: 3 fractional works · 0.4% of its workGeology: 2 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 2 fractional works · 0.2% of its workEnergy: 8 fractional works · 1.0% of its workRenewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment: 5 fractional works · 0.7% of its workEnergy Engineering and Power Technology: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workMathematics: 6 fractional works · 0.8% of its workApplied Mathematics: 2 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 4 fractional works · 0.6% of its workChemical Engineering: 5 fractional works · 0.7% of its workBioengineering: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workProcess Chemistry and Technology: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.1% of its workHealth Sciences: 63 fractional works · 8.1% of its workMedicine: 50 fractional works · 6.4% of its workRadiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging: 20 fractional works · 2.6% of its workPulmonary and Respiratory Medicine: 11 fractional works · 1.4% of its workSurgery: 4 fractional works · 0.5% of its workCardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workPhysiology: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workOncology: 2 fractional works · 0.2% of its workPublic Health, Environmental and Occupational Health: 2 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 7 fractional works · 0.9% of its workHealth Professions: 12 fractional works · 1.6% of its workSpeech and Hearing: 4 fractional works · 0.5% of its workRadiological and Ultrasound Technology: 3 fractional works · 0.4% of its workHealth Information Management: 2 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 3 fractional works · 0.3% of its workDentistry: 1 fractional works · 0.1% of its workNursing: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workSocial Sciences: 47 fractional works · 6.0% of its workDecision Sciences: 30 fractional works · 3.9% of its workStatistics, Probability and Uncertainty: 24 fractional works · 3.1% of its workInformation Systems and Management: 3 fractional works · 0.5% of its workManagement Science and Operations Research: 3 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSocial Sciences: 6 fractional works · 0.8% of its workSociology and Political Science: 3 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 3 fractional works · 0.4% of its workBusiness, Management and Accounting: 4 fractional works · 0.5% of its workStrategy and Management: 2 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 3 fractional works · 0.3% of its workEconomics and Econometrics: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.0% of its workPsychology: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workArts and Humanities: 1 fractional works · 0.1% of its workLife Sciences: 33 fractional works · 4.3% of its workBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 24 fractional works · 3.0% of its workMolecular Biology: 12 fractional works · 1.6% of its workBiophysics: 7 fractional works · 0.9% of its workSmaller subfields together: 4 fractional works · 0.6% of its workAgricultural and Biological Sciences: 4 fractional works · 0.5% of its workFood Science: 2 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workNeuroscience: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workPharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 2 fractional works · 0.2% of its workPharmaceutical Science: 2 fractional works · 0.2% of its workImmunology and Microbiology: 2 fractional works · 0.2% of its workALL ITS WORKNational PhysicalLaboratory772fractional works, 2022-now
Life Sciences4%Physical Sciences82%Health Sciences8%Social Sciences6%

Each ring splits the one inside it: the four domains of science, their fields, their subfields. Size is fractional works in 2022-now. Every slice is a page; the interactive view zooms down to single topics and colours each by how much more of it this institution does than the world.

Its 4 domains and 25 fields, with their numbers
    1. Engineering28937.5%
    2. Physics and Astronomy10413.4%
    3. Computer Science577.4%
    4. Materials Science567.2%
    5. Environmental Science526.8%
    6. Chemistry263.4%
    7. Earth and Planetary Sciences263.4%
    8. Energy81.0%
    9. Mathematics60.8%
    10. Chemical Engineering50.7%
    1. Medicine506.4%
    2. Health Professions121.6%
    3. Dentistry10.1%
    4. Nursing00.1%
    1. Decision Sciences303.9%
    2. Social Sciences60.8%
    3. Business, Management and Accounting40.5%
    4. Economics, Econometrics and Finance30.3%
    5. Psychology20.3%
    6. Arts and Humanities10.1%
    1. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology243.0%
    2. Agricultural and Biological Sciences40.5%
    3. Neuroscience20.3%
    4. Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics20.2%
    5. Immunology and Microbiology20.2%
All of science, and how each field's share has moved since 1950: the Science domain explorer

What does National Physical Laboratory specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Radiation takes 25.5× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. RadiationSubfield · 27.1 works25×
  2. Statistics, Probability and UncertaintySubfield · 24.2 works19×
  3. Atomic and Molecular Physics, and OpticsSubfield · 57.6 works10×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient, a volume reading rather than an impact one. It surfaces small, lopsided specialities.

Field profile

Location quotient across every field it publishes in: outside the ring is more than an institution of this size would be expected to publish, inside it is less.

Agricultural and Biological Sciences: 0.10× its world share, 4 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.57× its world share, 24 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.19× its world share, 2 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.20× its world share, 2 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.63× its world share, 2 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 2.00× its world share, 5 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 2.17× its world share, 26 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.95× its world share, 57 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 2.16× its world share, 26 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 1.06× its world share, 8 worksEnergyEngineering: 2.50× its world share, 289 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 1.36× its world share, 52 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 2.07× its world share, 56 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.69× its world share, 6 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 6.05× its world share, 104 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.15× its world share, 1 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 0.59× its world share, 12 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.33× its world share, 50 worksMedicineNursing: 0.12× its world share, 0 worksNursingArts and Humanities: 0.04× its world share, 1 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.16× its world share, 4 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 4.08× its world share, 30 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.16× its world share, 3 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.10× its world share, 2 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.06× its world share, 6 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Physics and Astronomy, 6.0×. Every wedge is a field page.

All 25 fields, with their numbers
  1. Physics and Astronomy6.05×104 works
  2. Decision Sciences4.08×30 works
  3. Engineering2.50×289 works
  4. Chemistry2.17×26 works
  5. Earth and Planetary Sciences2.16×26 works
  6. Materials Science2.07×56 works
  7. Chemical Engineering2.00×5 works
  8. Environmental Science1.36×52 works
  9. Energy1.06×8 works
  10. Computer Science0.95×57 works
  11. Mathematics0.69×6 works
  12. Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics0.63×2 works
  13. Health Professions0.59×12 works
  14. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology0.57×24 works
  15. Medicine0.33×50 works
  16. Neuroscience0.20×2 works
  17. Immunology and Microbiology0.19×2 works
  18. Business, Management and Accounting0.16×4 works
  19. Economics, Econometrics and Finance0.16×3 works
  20. Dentistry0.15×1 works
  21. Nursing0.12×0 works
  22. Agricultural and Biological Sciences0.10×4 works
  23. Psychology0.10×2 works
  24. Social Sciences0.06×6 works
  25. Arts and Humanities0.04×1 works

Who are the top researchers at National Physical Laboratory?

Ranked on the quality score, Steven J. Spencer, Josephine Bunch and Gareth Hinds lead among researchers whose main affiliation is National Physical Laboratory.

  1. 1 Steven J. Spencer United Kingdom · #128,539 worldwide 27k citations · 305 works
  2. 2 Josephine Bunch United Kingdom · #177,710 worldwide 5.3k citations · 143 works
  3. 3 Gareth Hinds United Kingdom · #197,911 worldwide 9.5k citations · 200 works
  4. 4 James Hardy Wilkinson United Kingdom · #228,903 worldwide 20k citations · 181 works
  5. 5 Ian S. Gilmore United Kingdom · #246,657 worldwide 8.6k citations · 250 works
  6. 6 Martin P. Seah United Kingdom · #260,326 worldwide 26k citations · 402 works
  7. 7 Stephen A. Webster United Kingdom · #294,871 worldwide 3.4k citations · 87 works
  8. 8 B. F. Dyson United Kingdom · #362,653 worldwide 4k citations · 93 works
  9. 9 Debdulal Roy United Kingdom · #390,083 worldwide 5.3k citations · 83 works
  10. 10 M. Schioppo United Kingdom · #392,286 worldwide 3.4k citations · 83 works
All ranked researchers at National Physical Laboratory

What are the most cited papers from National Physical Laboratory?

The most cited paper from National Physical Laboratory is "Quantitative electron spectroscopy of surfaces: A standard data base for electron inelastic mean free paths in solids" (Martin P. Seah, W. A. Dench, 1979), with 5,335 citations. Next come "SGTE data for pure elements" (5,020) and "The elasticity and strength of paper and other fibrous materials" (3,588).

Most cited papers
#PaperReleasedCitations
1 Quantitative electron spectroscopy of surfaces: A standard data base for electron inelastic mean free paths in solids Martin P. Seah, W. A. Dench · Surface and Interface Analysis Feb 1979 5,335
2 SGTE data for pure elements Alan Thomas Dinsdale · Calphad Oct 1991 5,020
3 The elasticity and strength of paper and other fibrous materials Henry L. Cox · British Journal of Applied Physics Mar 1952 3,588
4 A review of airborne polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and their human health effects Ki‐Hyun Kim, Shamin Ara Jahan, Ehsanul Kabir et al. · Environment International 6 Sep 2013 2,460
5 An Algorithm for Subgraph Isomorphism Julian R. Ullmann · Journal of the ACM Open access 1976 2,300
All 59 most cited papers, with filters and sorting

Which keywords describe research at National Physical Laboratory?

By fractional works in 2022-now, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Quality Assurance, Measurement Uncertainty, Redefinition of SI Units, Imaging, Machine Learning, Artificial Neural Networks, Spectroscopy and Biosensing.

▲ more of its work than of the world's◆ about the world's share▼ less than the world's

Size is fractional works in 2022-now in the topics tagged with each word; colour is the word's share of this institution's work against its share of the world's. The 40 words are chosen for being large and distinctive. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. Machine Learning36▲ 1.41×42 topics
  2. Quality Assurance30▲ 23×4 topics
  3. Neural Networks22▲ 1.85×18 topics
  4. Measurement Uncertainty22▲ 287×1 topic
  5. Redefinition of SI Units22▲ 287×1 topic
  6. Biomedical Applications20▲ 2.2×21 topics
  7. Artificial Neural Networks17▲ 4.9×6 topics
  8. Mechanical Properties17▲ 2.2×22 topics
  9. Health Effects17▲ 3.5×13 topics
  10. Imaging16▲ 8.4×7 topics
  11. Lithium-ion Batteries15▲ 4.6×3 topics
  12. Biosensors14▲ 3.7×12 topics
  13. Spectroscopy13▲ 9.9×10 topics
  14. Biosensing12▲ 18×3 topics
  15. On-Orbit Performance12▲ 144×1 topic
  16. Radiometric Calibration12▲ 144×1 topic
  17. Raman Spectroscopy11▲ 7.7×6 topics
  18. Quantum Information11▲ 13×3 topics
  19. Entanglement11▲ 9.6×4 topics
  20. Geodesy11▲ 95×2 topics
  21. Metamaterial11▲ 16×2 topics
  22. Sensors11▲ 12×6 topics
  23. Magnetic Resonance Imaging11▲ 5.5×7 topics
  24. Atomic Clocks11▲ 155×1 topic
  25. Optical Clocks11▲ 155×1 topic
  26. Satellite Observations10▲ 13×3 topics
  27. Monte Carlo Simulation10▲ 6.6×8 topics
  28. Ceramic Materials10▲ 14×3 topics
  29. Integrated Circuits10▲ 8.9×3 topics
  30. Microfabrication10▲ 30×3 topics
  31. Clinical Applications10▲ 20×2 topics
  32. Resonators9▲ 27×3 topics
  33. Battery Management Systems9▲ 8.2×1 topic
  34. Thermal Runaway9▲ 8.2×1 topic
  35. Tomography9▲ 6.8×5 topics
  36. X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy9▲ 16×2 topics
  37. Dosimetry9▲ 17×2 topics
  38. Characterization9▲ 8.7×5 topics
  39. Breath Analysis9▲ 11×2 topics
  40. Gas Turbine Engines9▲ 22×2 topics

Which research topics does National Physical Laboratory publish most on?

By volume in 2022-now: Scientific Measurement and Uncertainty Evaluation, Calibration and Measurement Techniques, Advanced Frequency and Time Standards and Advanced Battery Technologies Research.

Scientific Measurement a…22Scientific Measurement and Uncertainty Evaluation: 22 fractional worksCalibration and Measurement Techniques: 12 fractional worksAdvanced Frequency and Time Standards: 11 fractional worksAdvanced Battery Technologies Research: 9 fractional worksAdvanced Sensor Technologies Research: 8 fractional worksMicrowave Engineering and Waveguides: 8 fractional worksAtomic and Subatomic Phy…8Atomic and Subatomic Physics Research: 8 fractional worksMicrowave and Dielectric Measurement Techniques: 8 fractional worksAtmospheric and Environmental Gas Dynamics: 7 fractional worksSensor Technology and Me…7Sensor Technology and Measurement Systems: 7 fractional works
Statistics, Probability and UncertaintyAerospace EngineeringAtomic and Molecular Physics, and OpticsAutomotive Engineering4 others

Area is fractional works; colour is the subfield each topic belongs to.

  1. 1 Scientific Measurement and Uncertainty Evaluation Statistics, Probability and Uncertainty 22 works
  2. 2 Calibration and Measurement Techniques Aerospace Engineering 12 works
  3. 3 Advanced Frequency and Time Standards Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics 11 works
  4. 4 Advanced Battery Technologies Research Automotive Engineering 9 works
  5. 5 Advanced Sensor Technologies Research Biomedical Engineering 8 works
  6. 6 Microwave Engineering and Waveguides Electrical and Electronic Engineering 8 works
  7. 7 Atomic and Subatomic Physics Research Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics 8 works
  8. 8 Microwave and Dielectric Measurement Techniques Electrical and Electronic Engineering 8 works
  9. 9 Atmospheric and Environmental Gas Dynamics Global and Planetary Change 7 works
  10. 10 Sensor Technology and Measurement Systems Computer Networks and Communications 7 works

How open and international is its research?

Against the world's own shares: the tick on each track. Both are shares of its output, so they sit on one scale and can be read against each other as well as against the world.

openly available18.4%not open81.6%

World: 40% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors22.3%domestic only77.7%

World: 18% is written across borders.

How has National Physical Laboratory's research output changed?

Output in 2022-2025 was 2% lower than in 2018-2021.

still counting1990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon: one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Its share of all research

Growing output can still be a shrinking share: all of science grows. This is National Physical Laboratory as a percentage of every work published that year, 0.0036% in 2024.

still counting0.025%0.050%0.075%National Physical Laboratory0.0028% in 202519801990200020102020

Fractional works of National Physical Laboratory over all fractional works that year. How the balance of science has shifted.

How much of it reaches the world top 10%

Year by year, against all institutions in the same year.

still counting10%20%all institutions10.0% in 2025National Physical Laboratory8.5% in 2025200020102020

Of each year's output, the share that reached the world's 10% most cited for its field and year. Peak 18.4% in 2011.

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National Physical Laboratory on Science Explorer

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