598 



Popular Science Monthly 



Making and Using a Small Still 

 AMATEUR chemists and photog- 

 l\. raphers as well as other experi- 

 menters often find themselves in need of 

 pure or distilled water. This still will 

 prove a help and is an interesting ap- 

 paratus to make. It is easily operated 

 and will distill a comparatively large 

 quantity of liquid. 



The principle of distillation is the mere 

 raising of a liquid to its vaporizing point 

 and the collecting and condensing of its 

 vapor. The most important part of the 

 still is the condenser, which is shown in 

 the detailed diagram. It consists of a 

 large glass tube about 13^:4 ins. in 

 diameter and about 12 ins. long. Each 

 end is sealed tightly with a good sound 

 cork stopper. 



Three tubes known as the condensing 

 coils are about ^ in. in diameter and 16 

 ins. long, and are passed through the 



CcnCEtti^£.R 



P^ 



a-^^pa^igemEmt of afpaitatus 



Diagram of the arrangement of apparatus 

 for a small still 



Stoppers and glass casing. Tv.'o short 

 lengths of tubing are placed in the corks 

 to allow the cooling water to enter the 

 casing and to provide an overflow outlet. 

 The condenser ends should be painted 

 with shellac or dipped into molten 

 paraffin wax to seal any leaks. Connect 

 the three coil tubes with rubber tubing, 

 as shown, to make one continuous 

 circuit, and to allow the vapor to enter 

 one end and pass through the casing thre-:' 

 different times before the condensed 

 liquid emerges. ]\Iount the casing upon 

 a wooden base with two brass straps. 



The diagrammatic arrangement of the 

 apparatus shows the system of operating. 

 The boiler is easily made from a can and 

 small funnel as shown. Solder the fun- 

 nel carefully to the top of the can. Fill 

 the boiler by submerging in the liquid. 

 Use a Bunsen burner or alcohol lamp for 

 vaporizing the contents. Connect the 

 boiler to the inlet of condenser by mean . 

 of rubber tubing. A vessel of co'd 



water is used to cool the condenser, the 

 water being siphoned to the water inlet 

 on the condenser through tubing. Make 

 certain that the coil tubes are entirely 



Detailed diagram of the condenser 



covered with the cooling water to insure 

 perfect condensation. Allow the waste 

 water to drain off and collect the dis- 

 tillate in a clean vessel. 



Remember that distillation is based 

 upon the principle that the boiling points 

 of different liquids differ. With this in 

 mind many interesting experiments can 

 be made with the apparatus described. 

 Any desired liquid may be removed from 

 a mixture of various liquids by keeping 

 the boiling point of the mixture the same 

 as that of the desired substance. 



The boiling points of some common 

 liquids at sea level are as follows: 



Water 212° Fahr. 



Alcohol 173° Fahr. 



Ammonia 140° Fahr. 



Chloroform 140° Fahr. 



Saturated Salt Sol. 226° Fahr. 



Turpentine 315° Fahr. 



Sulphuric Acid 590° Fahr. 



Ether 100° Fahr. — B. F. Dashiell. 



Straightening Kinked Wire 



KIXKED wire can be straightened 

 satisfactorily with two blocks of 

 v.ood, cut and fitted as shown in the 

 accompanying drawing, and bolted to- 

 gether loosely. The wire is passed 

 between them, wrapped around a short 

 strip of hard wood and pulled with a 

 firm, even pressure. 



Crooked wires can be straightened out by 



merely running them between these two 



blocks of wood 



