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How to Make an Improvised Laboratory Apparatus

Scientists have always had a need for improvisation in the laboratory. Antoine Lavoisier constructed all of his equipment for extremely fine and exact measurements of gasses during the late 1700s. In order to create a desired apparatus, most commonly glassware, there are a couple of required fundamental tools, namely glass tubing and a hot flame. The instructions below are to create a chamber suited for production of oxygen and hydrogen from water.

Things You'll Need

Glass tubing
Test tube with two-hold cork
Platinum wire
High-voltage power supply
Bunsen burner with flame spreader
Heat-resistant pad
Heat-resistant gloves
Water

Instructions

- 1
  Attach the flame spreader to the bunsen burner and ignite the flame. Fine tune the oxygen and gas mixture by rotating the screw at the base of the burner until the flame has a rich sapphire-blue color at the base and an orange-red tip.
- 2
  Insert a piece of platinum wire into a section of glass tubing so it sticks out about 1 inch on once side and several inches on the other. Place the assembly, short-wire side, into the flame until the glass heats up and begins to melt. As it melts, it will close around the wire and seal it. Repeat this step to create two "glass electrodes."
- 3
  Force the glass electrodes through the cork holes until one is about 4 inches through and the other is about 3 inches through..
- 4
  Pour water into the test tube and affix the cork to the top. Attach the free ends of the wires from the electrodes to a high voltage power supply. Once the power is turned on bubbles will start to form, these are the component gases that make up water, hydrogen and oxygen.

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