Beaker

Three beakers of different sizes, one empty

A beaker is a simple glass device for various purposes in (mostly scientific) laboratories. This is understood to be a cylindrical beaker with a flanged rim at the top and usually a spout. A rough volume scale is usually printed on the side.

Along with the test tube and the Erlenmeyer flask, the beaker is one of the most frequently used glass vessels in the laboratory .

The beaker is used for a wide variety of tasks that require a simple glass vessel, such as collecting or mixing liquids or preparing simple solutions. It is inexpensive, is easy to fill thanks to the large opening and allows the contents to be stirred with a glass rod, for example. The transparent borosilicate glass usually used as a material is resistant to heat and most chemicals, so that beakers made from it are also suitable as simple reaction vessels and for heating. Polypropylene beakers are not heat-resistant and also less resistant to chemicals.

Beakers commonly used in the chemistry laboratory

Beakers in high and low form

In the case of a conventional beaker ("wide / wide shape"), the ratio of height to diameter is usually around 1.4. This normal version with a spout is sometimes referred to as "Griffin form" (especially in the Anglophone world). In the case of beakers in the "tall form", the height usually corresponds to about twice the diameter. This shape is sometimes referred to as a "Berzelius beaker".

A beaker differs from a flask in that it has a straight side wall. The exception is the slightly conical Philips cup .

Beakers are available in sizes from 1 ml up to twenty liters.

The DIN EN ISO 3819: 2013-12 specifies the following sizes and designs

design type	Nominal volume ml	Outer diameter mm +/- 5%	Total height mm max.	Wall thickness mm min.
Low mug	5	22nd	32	0.7
	10	26th	37	0.7
	25th	34	52	0.7
	50	42	62	0.8
	100	50	72	0.9
	150	60	82	1.0
	250	70	97	1.1
	400	80	113	1.2
	500	85	118	1.3
	600	90	128	1.3
	800	100	138	1.3
	1000	105	148	1.3
	2000	130	188	1.4
	3000	150	214	1.7
	5000	170	274	2.0
	10,000	220	360	2.0
tall cups	50	38	72	0.8
	100	48	82	0.9
	150	54	97	1.0
	250	60	123	1.1
	400	70	133	1.2
	500	79	140	1.3
	600	80	153	1.3
	800	90	178	1.3
	1000	95	183	1.3
	2000	120	244	1.4
	3000	135	284	1.7
	5000	160	324	2.0
Thick-walled design	150	60	82	1.1
	250	70	97	1.2
	400	80	111	1.4
	600	90	127	1.4
	1000	105	147	1.4
	2000	132	187	1.5
	5000	170	275	2.5

Web links

Wiktionary: Beaker  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Commons : Beaker  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} British Standard 6523 (1984) Glass beakers for laboratory use .
2. ^ AI Vogel (1974) Practical Organic Chemistry Third edition (Longman, London) page 46 ISBN 0-582-44245-1 .
3. ↑ Draft standard for beakers made of borosilicate glass 3.3.Retrieved on February 15, 2016.