Editing Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (section)

==History==
RAL is named after the [[physicist]]s [[Ernest Rutherford]] and [[Edward Victor Appleton|Edward Appleton]].

The National Institute for Research in Nuclear Science (NIRNS) was formed in 1957 to operate the Rutherford High Energy Laboratory established next to the [[Atomic Energy Research Establishment]] on the former [[RAF Harwell]] airfield between [[Chilton, Oxfordshire|Chilton]] and [[Harwell, Oxfordshire|Harwell]]. The 50 [[Electron volt|MeV]] [[proton]] [[linear accelerator]]<ref>{{Cite journal | date = January 1955 | title = Proton linear accelerators for nuclear research, and the A.E.R.E. 600 MeV project | journal = Il Nuovo Cimento | volume = 2 | issue = S1 | pages = 413–422 | doi = 10.1007/BF02746099 | last1 = Pickavance | first1 = T. G. | bibcode = 1955NCim....2S.413P | s2cid = 123530554 }}</ref> was transferred from the [[Atomic Energy Research Establishment]] to the new laboratory to become a national facility for particle physics as the [[Nimrod (synchrotron)|Nimrod]]. Some components of this [[linear accelerator]] are still operating as part of the [[ISIS neutron source|ISIS Neutron and Muon Source]] injector linac over 50 years after their first use.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.isis.stfc.ac.uk/learning/video/inside-the-isis-linear-particle-accelerator11761.html | date = 6 March 2011 | title = Inside the ISIS linear particle accelerator |publisher=Science and Technology Facilities Council |access-date=17 July 2012}}</ref> Since then the laboratory has grown both with the expansion of its established facilities, and the incorporation of facilities from other institutions to provide the benefits from [[economies of scale]]. The major mergers were in 1975 with the adjacent [[Atlas Computer Laboratory]] creating the Rutherford Laboratory, and then in 1979 with the [[Appleton Laboratory]] to form the current Rutherford Appleton Laboratory. With the closure of the [[Royal Greenwich Observatory]] in 1998, some small offices also moved to RAL. Similarly, laser technology moved to RAL from [[Joint European Torus]] at [[Culham]] to become the foundation of the Central Laser Facility.

To be able to decide the priorities for government funding across all areas of scientific research, the Science & Technology Act of 1965<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.opsi.gov.uk/RevisedStatutes/Acts/ukpga/1965/plain/cukpga_19650004_en | date = 23 March 1965 | title = Science & Technology Act, 1965 |publisher=[[Office of Public Sector Information]] |access-date=6 June 2009}}</ref> created the Science Research Council (SRC) which took over management of the Rutherford High Energy Laboratory from NIRNS along with many other previously disparate UK science bodies. To prioritise economic impact over [[blue skies research]], the SRC became the [[Science and Engineering Research Council]] (SERC) in the early 1980s, and in 1994,<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si1994/Uksi_19940611_en_1.htm#tcon | date = 5 March 1994 | title = The Research Councils, (Transfer of Property etc) Order 1994 |publisher=Office of Public Sector Information |access-date=6 June 2009}}</ref> the SERC was eventually divided into three [[UK Research Councils|Research Councils]] (the [[Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council|EPSRC]], [[Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council|PPARC]] and the [[Council for the Central Laboratory of the Research Councils|CCLRC]] – which took responsibility for RAL from EPSRC in 1995<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si1995/Uksi_19950630_en_1.htm | date = 3 March 1995 | title = The Research Councils, (Transfer of Property etc) Order 1995 |publisher=Office of Public Sector Information |access-date=6 June 2009}}</ref>), so that each could then focus its development around one of three incompatible business models – administratively efficient short duration grant distribution, medium term commitments to international agreements, long-term commitments to staff and facilities provision. To unify the planning of the provision for UK scientists to access large national and international facilities,<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2007/pdf/uksi_20070279_en.pdf | date = 7 February 2007 | title = The Science and Technology Facilities Council Order 2007 |publisher=Office of Public Sector Information |access-date=6 June 2009}}</ref> in 2007 the CCLRC merged with PPARC and incorporated the [[nuclear physics]] discipline from EPSRC to create the [[Science and Technology Facilities Council]] which then took responsibility for RAL.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2007/pdf/uksi_20070770_en.pdf | date = 8 March 2007 | title = The Research Councils, (Transfer of Property etc) Order 2007 |publisher=Office of Public Sector Information |access-date=6 June 2009}}</ref>