Laboratory

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Laboratory

A laboratory (informally, lab) is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific

Science

In its broadest sense, science refers to any systematic knowledge or practice. In its more usual restricted sense, science refers to a system of acquiring knowledge based on scientific method, as well as to the organized body of knowledge gained through such research....
research

Research

Research is defined as human activity based on intellectual application in the investigation of matter. The primary purpose for applied research is discovery , interpretation , and the development of methods and systems for the advancement of human knowledge on a wide variety of scientific matters of our world and the universe....
, experiment

Experiment

In scientific inquiry, an experiment is a method of investigating causal relationships among variables. An experiment is a cornerstone of the empiricism approach to acquiring data about the world and is used in both natural sciences and social sciences....
s, and measurement

Measurement

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Encyclopedia

A laboratory (informally, lab) is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific

Science

Research

Experiment

Measurement

Measurement is the process of assigning a number to an attribute according to a rule or set of rules. The term can also be used to refer to the result obtained after performing the process....
may be performed. The title of laboratory is also used for certain other facilities where the processes or equipment used are similar to those in scientific laboratories. These notably include:

the film laboratory
Film laboratory

A film laboratory is a commercial service enterprise and technical facility for the film industry where specialists develop, print, and conform film material for classical film production and distribution which is based on film material, such as negative and positive, black and white and color, on different film formats: 65-70mm, 35mm, 16mm,...
or darkroom
Darkroom

A darkroom is a workspace, usually a separate area in a building or a vehicle, made dark to allow photographers to use light-sensitive materials to develop Photographic film and photographic paper to make photography....
the computer lab
Computer lab

A computer lab, also known as a computer suite is typically a room which contains many networked computers for public use. Computer labs can be found in library, schools, government buildings, laboratory, community centers, companies with IT departments that requires such a place for their employees to do their jobs, and research cen...
the medical lab
Medical laboratory

A medical laboratory or clinical laboratory is a laboratory where tests are done on clinical specimens in order to get information about the health of a patient....
the clandestine lab
Clandestine chemistry

Clandestine chemistry is to chemistry carried out in secret, and particularly in illegal drug trade laboratories. Larger labs are usually run by gangs or organized crime intending to produce for distribution on the black market....
for the production of illegal drugs

Scientific laboratories can be found in school

School

File:Primary Student of Pakistan.JPGA school , is an institution designed to allow and encourage students to education, under the supervision of teachers....
s and universities

University

A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education....
, in industry

Industry

An industry is the manufacturing of a Good or Service within a category. Although industry is a broad term for any kind of economic production, in economics and urban planning industry is a synonym for the secondary sector, which is a type of economic activity involved in the manufacturing of raw materials into goods and products....
, in government

Government

Government is the body within any organization that has the authority to make and the power to enforce laws, regulations, or rules. Typically, the government refers to a civil government -- local, provincial, or national -- but commercial, academic, religious, or other formal organizations are also administered by governing bodies....
or military

Military

A military is an organization authorized by its nation to use force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or Threat of force ....
facilities, and even aboard ship

Ship

A ship is a large watercraft that floats on water. Ships are generally distinguished from boats based on size. Ships may be found on lakes, seas, and rivers and they allow for a variety of activities, such as the ferry or cargo ships, fishing, cruise ship, Coast guard, and warship....
s and spacecraft

Spacecraft

A spacecraft is a Craft or machine designed for spaceflight. On a sub-orbital spaceflight, a spacecraft enters outer space then returns to the Earth....
. A laboratory might offer work space for just one to more than thirty researchers depending on its size and purpose.

Characteristics of scientific laboratories

Labs used for scientific research

Research

Physics

Physics is the natural science which examines basic concepts such as energy, force, and spacetime and all that derives from these, such as mass, charge, matter and its Motion ....
lab might contain a particle accelerator

Particle accelerator

A particle accelerator is a device that uses electric fields to propel electric charge Elementary particles to high speeds and to contain them....
or vacuum

Vacuum

A vacuum is a volume of space that is essentially empty of matter, such that its gaseous pressure is much less than atmospheric pressure. The word comes from the Latin term for "empty," but in reality, no volume of space can ever be perfectly empty....
chamber, while a metallurgy

Metallurgy

Metallurgy is a domain of materials science that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic Chemical element, their intermetallics, and their mixtures, which are called alloys....
lab could have apparatus for casting or refining

Refining

Refining is the process of purification of a chemical compound. The term is usually used of a natural resource that is almost in a usable form, but which is more useful in its pure form....
metals or for testing their strength

Strength of materials

In materials science, the strength of a material refers to the material's ability to withstand an applied stress without failure. Yield strength refers to the point on the engineering stress-strain curve beyond which the material begins deformation that cannot be reversed upon removal of the loading....
. A chemist

Chemistry

Chemistry is the science concerned with the composition, structure, and properties of matter, as well as the changes it undergoes during chemical reactions....
or biologist

Biology

Biology is a branch of the natural sciences concerned with the study of living organisms and their interaction with each other and their environment ....
might use a wet laboratory

Wet laboratory

Wet laboratories are laboratories where chemicals, drugs, or other material or biological matter are tested and analyzed requiring water, direct ventilation, and specialized piped utilities....
, while a psychologist's

Psychology

Psychology is an academic and applied science discipline involving the science study of human mental functions and behavior. Occasionally it also relies on symbolic hermeneutics and critical theory, although these traditions are less pronounced than in other social sciences such as sociology....
lab might be a room with one-way mirrors and hidden cameras in which to observe behavior. In some laboratories, such as those commonly used by computer scientist

Computer scientist

A computer scientist is a person who has acquired knowledge of computer science, the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and their application in computer systems....
s, computer

Computer

A computer is a machine that manipulates Data according to a list of Code .The first devices that resemble modern computers date to the mid-20th century , although the computer concept and various machines similar to computers existed earlier....
s (sometimes supercomputer

Supercomputer

A supercomputer is a computer that is at the frontline of current processing capacity, particularly speed of calculation. Supercomputers introduced in the 1960s were designed primarily by Seymour Cray at Control Data Corporation , and led the market into the 1970s until Cray left to form his own company, Cray Research....
s) are used for either simulations

Computer simulation

A computer simulation, a computer model or a computational model is a computer program, or network of computers, that attempts to simulation an abstract model of a particular system....
or the analysis

Data analysis

Data analysis is a process of gathering, modeling, and transforming data with the goal of highlighting useful information, suggesting conclusions, and supporting decision making....
of data

DATA

Debt, AIDS, Trade in Africa is a multinational Non-governmental organization founded in January 2002 in London by U2's Bono along with Robert Sargent Shriver III and activists from the Jubilee 2000 Drop the Debt campaign....
collected elsewhere. Scientists in other fields will use still other types of laboratories. Despite the great differences among laboratories, some features are common. The use of workbench

Workbench

A workbench is sturdy Table at which manual work is done. They range from simple flat surfaces to very complex designs that may be considered tools in themselves....
es or countertop

Countertop

Countertop usually refers to a horizontal worksurface in kitchens, other food preparation areas, and workrooms in general. It is frequently installed above and supported by Cabinet s....
s at which the scientist may choose to either sit or stand is a common way to ensure comfortable working conditions for the researcher, who may spend a large portion of his or her working day in the laboratory. The provision of cabinets

Cabinet (furniture)

File:Glass cabinet.JPGFile:Tansu.jpgA cabinet is usually a box-shaped furniture, either standing alone as a piece of furniture or built into or attached to a wall typically made of wood but now often made of synthetic materials, and used for storage of miscellaneous items....
for the storage of laboratory equipment

Laboratory equipment

Laboratory equipment refers to the various tools and equipment used by scientists working in a laboratory. These include tools such as Bunsen burners, and microscopes as well as specialty equipment such as operant conditioning chambers, spectrophotometers and calorimeters....
is quite common. It is traditional for a scientist to record an experiment's progress in a laboratory notebook, but modern labs almost always contain at least one computer workstation for data collection and analysis.

Lab safety

In some laboratories, the conditions are no more dangerous than in any other room. In many labs, though, hazards are present. Laboratory hazards are as varied as the subjects of study in laboratories, and might include poison

Poison

In the context of biology, poisons are Chemical substance that can cause disturbances to organisms, usually by chemical reaction or other activity on the molecular scale, when a sufficient quantity is absorbed by an organism....
s; infectious agents; flammable, explosive, or radioactive materials; moving machinery; extreme temperatures; strong magnetic field

Magnetic field

A magnetism field is a vector field which can exert a magnetic force on moving electric charges and on magnetic dipoles . When placed in a magnetic field, magnetic dipoles tend to align their axes parallel to the magnetic field....
s or high voltage

High voltage

The term high voltage characterizes electrical circuits, in which the voltage used is the cause of particular safety concerns and insulation requirements....
. In laboratories where dangerous conditions might exist, safety

Safety

Safety is the state of being "safe" , the condition of being protected against physical, social, spiritual, financial, political, emotional, occupational, psychological, educational or other types or consequences of failure, damage, error, accidents, harm or any other event which could be considered non-desirable....
precautions are important. Rules exist to minimize the individual's risk, and safety equipment is used to protect the lab user from injury or to assist in responding to an emergency

Emergency

An emergency is a situation which poses an immediate risk to health, life, property or Natural environment. Most emergencies require urgent intervention to prevent a worsening of the situation, although in some situations, mitigation may not be possible and agencies may only be able to offer palliative care for the aftermath....
.

Laboratory

Characteristics of scientific laboratories

Lab safety

See also