Retort made of green glass
A retort is a well-known, simple, spherical vessel for the distillation of liquid or solid substances. Smaller retorts are often made of glass. The 18th century retort on display is made of green glass, the colour of which is caused by iron oxide impurities in the glass mass. Its volume is about 7 litres, and the downward-curved neck is about 40 cm long. The retort is also symbolic of chemistry and chemical technology.
from a Göttingen pharmacy / 18th century
Selection of simple glassware for chemical laboratory work and practicals
In 1887, Otto Schott in Jena invented a borosilicate glass with good chemical resistance and tolerance to large temperature changes ("Jena glass", "Duran"). The selection from the possession of a Göttingen chemistry student of the 1970s shows test tubes, beakers, Erlenmeyer flasks, bottles with ground-glass stoppers, pipettes, measuring cylinders, a suction flask with filter chute as well as a dark blue coloured cobalt glass (optical filter for spectral analysis).
Schott, Mainz and others / 1970s
Biochemical reactors
Bioreactors are containers in which specific cells are cultivated to produce complex biomolecules. To ensure optimal conditions for the cells, various parameters (e.g. temperature, pH value, oxygen) must be precisely controlled. The Goettingen-based company Sartorius supports biopharmaceutical research and industry with bioreactors in volumes ranging from 15 mL to 2000 L - from process development to large-scale production. So-called "single-use" technologies have the advantage of being safer and more resource-efficient, as contamination can be ruled out and time-consuming cleaning procedures are no longer necessary.
Sartorius, Göttingen / 2019
Apparatus for the electrolysis of water
Hydrogen H2 is an important basic chemical substance, energy carrier and storage medium. As early as 1866, the chemist A. W. Hofmann described a glass apparatus for the electrolysis of water. The gases hydrogen and oxygen, which are produced in a ratio of 2:1, are collected in the two graduated tubes according to the chemical formula H2O for water (2 H2O = 2 H2 + O2).
Museum of Göttingen Chemistry
The Museum of Göttingen Chemistry at the Faculty of Chemistry was founded in 1979 and contains numerous historical objects and documents of a very diverse nature on the history of chemistry at the University of Göttingen since its foundation in 1737 in the permanent exhibition and in the magazine. The collection is still being continuously expanded today through acquisitions and donations. The museum is supported by a sponsoring association, most of whose members are chemistry professors working in Göttingen and former Göttingen chemistry graduates.
