Scientific glassware: Important aspect of laboratory

Introduction:

Chemistry starts and ends with chemicals. There are different chemicals used in different processes, but ultimately they fall into a specific category only. So these chemicals are of acidic or basic nature. Both the types have ill effects on the human body if they come into direct contact with it. These chemicals can create many problems including the burns on skins by acids, and blisters due to the bases or create a burning sensation, which can leave permanent marks on the skin also. To avoid these situations, the chemicals are securely contained in the special laboratory equipments, which hold them safely and allow the people working around to work with them without coming in contact with these harmful chemicals. So it is much helpful for preservation, as well as, safety of people not only working in lab directly, but visiting also.

The scientific glassware, which is used in the laboratory, is the best thing to work within the controlled environment of the laboratory. The glassware is good as it keeps the chemicals away from human contact and does not react with any of the chemicals. The glassware is manufactured according to the different needs of different chemicals. For containing the highly concentrated acids, the glassware used is very much strong, and of very high quality.

Types of glass wares used in scientific operations:

•             Flask: this is the most common glassware which can be seen in a laboratory. This type of glassware is used to store various types of liquids and is found in a wide range of shapes and sizes. The most common types of flasks used in the operations, in any laboratory are the round bottom flask and the volumetric flask.

•             Burettes: the burettes are long and contain markings on it, which help the worker to measure the components inside it. They are of cylindrical shape and available in different sizes. Liquids can be easily measured with these burettes, and the readings are very much accurate.

•             Beakers: these are different kind of containers, which are also very common to find in a chemistry laboratory. These beakers are cylindrical in shape but have considerably more volume than the burettes. The mouth of a beaker is wide open, which helps it to handle the component inside it very easily.

•             Test tubes: the test tubes are glass tubes, which have cylindrical body and round bottom. These things are used to mix chemicals in small quantities, or to hold chemicals when they are being used in some experiment.

Apart from the above apparatuses, there are many things in the scientific laboratory that comes in the category of glassware and are used in various types of works, which are conducted there. The glassware used in the laboratories has to be of very high quality, thus, it is very important to buy from a reputed manufacturer.

Soxhlet Extractor: The Well Known Apparatus For Extraction

There are many processes required in the field of chemistry. For different processes,  different sorts of instruments are also used. Not only that, there are many special apparatuses which are made for specific purposes and these apparatuses have special reasons for which they are made. Not only that they are made in a specific way which can be understood by the people of the chemical sector only. For a layman, neither these things are enough understandable nor known to him also. So a layman has no concern with it at all. However, since the evolution of chemistry as a separate branch of science, different instruments are invented by different scientists. The soxhlet apparatus is also one of such apparatuses.  This apparatus was invented by A scientist namely Franz von Soxhlet in the year 1879, and from his name only, the apparatus is given the name as Soxhlet Apparatus.  This apparatus is basically invented for extraction of different lipids. However, with the passage of the time its use is no more limited to the extraction of lipids only. As per the use of this apparatus, it is basically used to extract lipids in such cases where the desired compound possesses  limited scope of solubility in a solvent and  the derived impurities are also insoluble in the same. However, if the compound has high solubility, one can derive the typical results with simple filtration also.

The Usage and Process:

In this typical process of extracting the desired solid, compound is held in a typical container which is usually porous and with required concentrated solvent. While the compound changes into vapors, it keeps the dissolved compound with it and accordingly it is condensed separately. Usually this is a common process, which is done into the condenser. The porous container which held the solid compound sample will also hold solid samples, which are not soluble in the solvent. So now the distill pot keeps the required, desired concentrated material only. Thus, these are the three parts of the extractor, which basically form the extractor.

The result:

Now as a part of the process, mild heat is provided to the extractor by direct flames below which in turn heats the container and the solvent starts to change into vapors. The process of condensation of these liquids converts the collected sample, and this is the process how the two materials in solid forms are separated. For various sorts of materials, various solvents are used.

The condenser is provided cooling through the ice so that the temperature is lower enough to condense the liquid, which is evaporated.

Utility:

This extractor is commonly used for extraction of fat and oil from different things. In this process of extraction of fat from a solid compound, commonly an organic solvent is used. Then, this solvent is provided heat to change it into vapor form. As the vapor goes up and then its condensation changes it again into liquid form. It creates in small droplets, which takes away the fat content of the compound. This process is constantly repeated for almost 15 to 20 minutes.

Great Uses of Small Volumetric Pipette

An overview:

A volumetric pipette is a thin glass tube used to measure liquid substances to pour into something like a beaker or a flask while conducting an experiment. The pipette is so thin that it becomes practically impossible to put liquid into it with hands. The person using the pipette has to suck the liquid up into the pipette by putting its one end in the liquid and the other end in his mouth or with pipettor. The measurement of the pipette is somewhat different from the other measurement apparatuses available in a laboratory. There is a zero mark on the pipette body which is the indication that the liquid below it should not be taken into the experiment. The pipettes come in different capacities to measure liquids in various experiments as well chemical processes.

The Structure:

The pipette as discussed earlier has two openings. From one end the liquid enters into it in and then it is kept in by blocking that end with the help of a finger placed in place of a mouth. There is a bulb like structure present in the middle of the pipette’s body which is round in shape. This structure increases the capacity of the body along with making the suction safe as some amount of chemical can be held in this part of the apparatus . Most of the chemicals are harmful in nature and there intake can cause serious health problems, so the presence of the bulb slows down the pace of the liquid moving up so that the person using it can control and remain safe from swallowing the liquid. The pipettes are available in different capacities ranging from 1ml to 100 ml. One can also order specific sizes of pipette if requirement is different than pipettes available in the market. The bulb in large pipettes will be large in size to increase the capacity of it in terms of holding the liquid..

Guidelines to use:

Certain points have to be kept in mind before anyone starts the experiment with the help of the pipette. The temperature has to be under control for getting the best results from the pipette. It is very important that the pipette being used in any experiment has to be clean and dry. If the pipette is wet, then make sure to fill the pipette with some liquid which is going to be used in the experiment, and this liquid should be thrown away. After filling the pipette at the time of performing the experiment, make sure that there are no air bubbles at the upper end of the liquid. While working with a pipette lower meniscus is taken into consideration. The reading should be taken by keeping the pipette at eye level so the exact reading is taken and the pipette is filled completely up to the upper limit or marking.

The volumetric pipette comes in great use while doing volumetric analysis, for example Saponification. Pipettes are one of the most important requirements for these kind of experiments.

Science Breathes through Glass Test Tubes

If you ever visited a laboratory, you must have seen some small, thin and pretty looking shiny glass vessels with round bottom. These vessels are actually the glass test tubes. From a chemistry lab to biology lab, these test tubes are found everywhere when it comes to separating samples from other things. One can find these test tubes in different sizes as per their utility. The larger ones are generally used to heat up the content it carries and are also called the boiling tubes. The size of the test tube ranges from 10 to 25 mm diameter and 50 to 200 mm in length. There are some features of the test tubes that can call for the attention. And they are the primary drivers of their popularity in chemical laboratory field.

Characteristics of test tubes:

Generally the test tubes irrespective of their size have a round bottom; this feature is added in the structure of the tubes to avoid the careless handling of the samples it handles. So, with their round bottoms, they do not settle on the plain ground and forcefully the user has to put it into its stand. Depending on the size of the test tube, size of stand depends. Thus this feature helps to avoid the accidental destruction of samples in the laboratory as well as can be used for temporary holding of the chemical in it.

The best quality test tubes are always made of Borosilicate glass. Due to this quality material, it becomes easy to heat the substance inside by placing the tube directly on the flame. The material of these tubes is specially fabricated to tolerate high temperature. But heating the test tube does not mean taking them to a temperature where they will practically explode due rise in temperature. Many of the test tubes come with a rubber stopper to protect the content inside. Not only that, this material makes the tubes crystal clear and provides better transparency, which is very much important in different processes and experiments. Due to these tubes, professionals can do the process like stirring very easily.

The most common use of test tubes is in qualitative experiments. The special design of these small test tubes prevents the loss of substance. Due to its small surface, test tube does not allow the content to evaporate rapidly while heating.

Use of test tubes:

During various experiments, the scientists use this test tube for different means like capturing gases in them, storing the sample, heating substances and pouring a small amount of chemicals from them etc. Due to this multi utility only, the tubes are preferred by professionals in glass rather than in any other material.

So, now we know how many uses and benefits this small and delicate looking glass test tube can have. They perform tasks that look too tough for them at the first sight, but due to their great strength these things become possible. Probably it is difficult for a laboratory to imagine their work center without these test tubes.

Author: The author is well known expert of glass industry who possess years of experience in lab glassware and is currently serving  Oberoi Scientific Corporation as quality expert. He is known for providing his valuable advise to people who need it through e-mail.

Lab Beakers – Choose the Best Apparatus

Labs have always being important for performing various chemical and other testing purposes. Though plastic and plastic coated products are one of the latest devices, yet many chemical labs don’t prefer it. Lab beakers are usually made of glass materials and have numerous benefits associated with it. The first and foremost thing is that it can easily resist any sort of heat that is usually emitted from chemicals. Many plastic coated devices are not strong enough to withstand the heat that is quite common in the testing process.

Why glassware?

The glass is prepared after lots of research and testing process, which makes it good enough to be used in the lab. Mainly lab beakers are manufactured from borosilicate glass. There are different types of beakers that are available for the testing purpose. They come in various shapes, sizes, and volume and the users can choose one that will best suit their needs. One of the common equipment that is used in the lab is beakers. The unique design and shape makes it possible to be used for various purposes. It is usually in shape of a cylinder. So you can easily pour in and out the chemicals that are required for testing purposes. As they are transparent in nature, you can easily view them, all time. Such apparatuses are quite easy to use.

You can choose size of the beaker as per your needs and preferences. There are some companies that can prepare beakers as per your requirements also.