Retort
Retorts were widely used by alchemists, and images of retorts appear in many drawings and sketches of their laboratories. Before the advent of modern condensers, retorts were used by many prominent chemists, such as Antoine Lavoisier and Jöns Berzelius. The earliest known use was by Islamic golden age chemist and philosopher Jabir ibn Hayyan c. one thousand years before European chemists. An early method for producing phosphorus starts by roasting bones, and uses clay retorts encased in a very hot brick furnace to distill out the highly toxic product. The term "retort" comes by way of Middle French, but ultimately from Latin "retortus", twisted back, for the shape of the neck. In laboratory use, due to advances in technology, especially the invention of the Liebig condenser, retorts were largely considered to have been rendered obsolete as early as the beginning of the 20th century. However, some laboratory techniques that involve simple distillation and do not require sophisticated apparatus may use a retort as a substitute for more complex distillation equipment. A retort is a reactor that has the ability to pyrolyze pile-wood, or wood logs over long and up to in diameter.
Role in analytical chemistry
In a chemistry laboratory, a retort is a device used for distillation or dry distillation of substances.