Laboratory Glassware And Their Uses

Science laboratory equipments refer to the various apparatuses used by professionals and students during science experiments. The laboratory apparatus is traditionally made of borosilicate glass, a durable variety that can be used safely to hold chemicals, being heated over a flame and observe reactions. The type of apparatus to be used in laboratory depends upon the kind of experiment to be performed. Once the experiment is done the glassware must be immediately cleaned.

Beaker

The beaker is a simple container used for stirring, mixing and heating liquids that are commonly used for laboratory experiments. They are cylindrical in shape with a flat bottom and flip for pouring. They are also used for routine measurements within 10% accuracy. Most beakers are made of borosilicate glass that gives it the strength and durability.

Funnel

Funnel is a pipe with wide and conical mouth and a narrow stem. They are used as guard against spillage of chemicals while pouring it from one apparatus to another. Funnel is extremely helpful to channel liquid or fine grained substances into containers with a small opening. Separatory funnels are used for filtration and extraction. They have a bulbous shaped enclosed body that is fitted with a stopper to prevent spillage of any kind.

Test Tube

They are also known as culture tube or sample tube and are one of the most common apparatus to be found in any chemistry laboratory. They are made from machine drawn, uniform thickness, low expansion borosilicate glass tubing. The bottoms of this glassware have uniform thickness according the apparatus with the ability to withstand both mechanical and thermal shocks. The tubes which have rims are referred to as test tubes while those without rims are known as culture tubes.

Pipettes

Pipettes are generally used to measure and transfer small volumes. There are different types of pipettes available depending upon the function they have to perform. They are basically dropper calibrated to deliver a specific volume. Many pipettes also have measurements marked on them like graduated cylinders while the others are filled with lines to deliver the same volume time and again. The best quality pipettes are made of borosilicate glass.

Flasks

All laboratories must have or be equipped with flasks of different types. There are different types of flask available in the market and all serving certain specific purpose. Flasks are used for a wide range of purposes like boiling, culture, distillation, filtration, etc. They have a variety of applications to meet and take care of in accordance to the customer requirements.

Burettes

While using a burette during chemical observation we expect accuracy, reliability and durability. They are a vertical cylindrical piece of laboratory glassware with a volumetric graduation on its full length together with a precision tap. They are used to dispense measured volumes of liquid reagents in experiments