Wednesday, December 13, 2017

Tools of the Trade - Rota-Vap

Branford, CT  2017

No synthetic organic chemistry lab would be complete without one of these.  The Rota-Vap is used to remove solvents under  a reduced pressure, or vacuum.  This lowers the boiling point of the solvents we use and allows them to be removed at reasonable temperatures under mild conditions.  The smoke you see in the bath is for effect only.  I accidentally spilled some dry ice in the water bath creating the classic chemistry lab/mad scientist scene portrayed in many movies.  


2 comments:

  1. Good to see the inside of your lab complete with mad scientist mist.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Maybe this could be a new series for you Ed... not many of us have ever been in your mysterious world of chemistry. I find it fascinating as I am sure you find it mondain.

    ReplyDelete