Beakers

A beaker is the most used laboratory glassware. It is a simply constructed container for liquids. Cylindrical in shape, this glassware has straight sides, a flat bottom, and also a top rim having the same diameter as the bottom. Beakers are widely available in a range of sizes, right from 1 ml up to several litres.

Types of Beakers
Beakers can be classified according to the materials they are constructed from. The materials used to manufacture beakers also depends on the end use of the glassware. Some of the popular materials used are :

• Glass Beakers : Pyrex and borosilicate are often used to make laboratory beakers because of the anti expansion and heat resistant properties.
• Plastic Beakers : Used for holding certain special solutions and liquids.
• Teflon Beakers : Used for solutions containing corrosive chemicals.

Laboratory beakers are sometimes covered with a watch glass, for preventing contamination or loss of contents. They are often marked on the side with lines indicating the volume contained. For instance, a 500 ml beaker might be marked with lines indicating 100, 200, 300, 400, and 500 ml of volume.

A beaker is different from a flask in the way it is constructed. while a beaker has straight sides, a flask generally has sloping sides.

Use of Beaker

• Clinical Laboratories
• Chemicals and Petrochemicals
• Pharmaceuticals
• Hospitals
• Educational Laboratories