Overview

The organisation and contents of laboratories are determined by the differing requirements of the specialists working within. A physics laboratory might contain a particle accelerator or vacuum chamber, while a metallurgy laboratory could have apparatus for casting or refining metals or for testing their strength. A chemist or biologist might use a wet laboratory, while a psychologist's laboratory 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 scientists, computers (sometimes supercomputers) are used for either simulations or the analysis of data. Scientists in other fields will still use other types of laboratories. Engineers use laboratories as well to design, build, and test technological devices.

Scientific laboratories can be found as research room and learning spaces in schools and universities, industry, government, or military facilities, and even aboard ships and spacecraft.

Despite the underlying notion of the lab as a confined space for experts,[2] the term "laboratory" is also increasingly applied to workshop spaces such as Living Labs, Fab Labs, or Hackerspaces, in which people meet to work on societal problems or make prototypes, working collaboratively or sharing resources.[3][4][5] This development is inspired by new, participatory approaches to science and innovation and relies on user-centred design methods[6] and concepts like Open innovation or User innovation,.[7][8] One distinctive feature of work in Open Labs is the phenomenon of translation, driven by the different backgrounds and levels of expertise of the people involved.[9]

The early laboratories

The earliest laboratory according to the present evidence is a home laboratory of Pythagoras of Samos, the well-known Greek philosopher and scientist. This laboratory was created when Pythagoras conducted an experiment about tones of sound and vibration of string

In the painting of Louis Pasteur by Albert Edelfelt in 1885, Louis Pasteur is shown comparing a note in his left hand with a bottle filled with a solid in his right hand, and not wearing any personal protective equipment