Teddington’s National Physical Laboratory (NPL) provides one of the major settings for a new BBC television series exploring the history and science of measurement.

Precision: The Measure of Things is a three-part series on BBC4 presented by maths professor Marcus du Sautoy and the first episode titled Time and Distance aired on Monday, June 10.

The NPL in Hampton Road has developed and maintained the nation’s measurement standards and ensured accuracy and consistency of measurement for more than a century.

Those very standards are what the series will examine and it will discuss humankind’s efforts to add numerical exactness to the world and the impact of greater precision of measurement on our history, lifestyles and the future.

Mr du Sautoy said: “The story of measurement has shaped and changed our history and will continue to do so as we delve deeper into the atomic fabric of the universe in search of greater precision.”

The next episode looks at weight and mass and visits a high-security vault in Paris to address the issue that the kilogramme on which every kilo is based, Le Grand K, is losing weight.

The final part in the series studies light, heat and electricity and it highlights Britain’s efforts to create an acoustic thermometer in an attempt to measure temperatures hotter than the surface of the sun.

The show airs on BBC4 every Monday at 9pm until June 24. The first episode is currently available on iPlayer.