Our whole society depends on measurements, billions of them every day. From the GPS on our phones, thorough precision healthcare and advanced manufacturing, to the more mundane weights and measures at the local market, we all rely on an accurate and trustworthy measurement system.

The system is maintained by metrology – the science of measurement – which also aims to improve measurement accuracy over time. Prof. Richard Brown, the Head of Metrology at the National Physical Laboratory, describes the work of metrology and the continual support it provides to sustain the pattern of everyday life.