Laboratory
Laboratory, a science workshop equipped for performing experiments, analyses, or demonstrations. In a general sense, any workshop or place of labor may also be called a laboratory. The purpose of a scientific laboratory may be to discover new facts, to determine the makeup of substances, to apply discoveries to practical ends, or to demonstrate known facts for teaching purposes. A laboratory may serve two or three of these purposes.
In many industrial laboratories both basic research (the search for new facts) and applied research (the application of facts) are practiced. The physics, chemistry, biology, and psychology laboratories of educational institutions are often used not only for teaching purposes but also for basic and applied research. As an aid in diagnosing disease, body fluids and tissues are analyzed in medical laboratories.
In the Middle Ages laboratories were the workshops of alchemists, astrologers, apothecaries (druggists), and physicians. It was not until the development of the scientific method, however, that true laboratories came into being. In the scientific method all theories are tested by experiment, and conclusions are drawn from observation.