Editing Laboratory glassware (section)

==History==
[[File:Man Group portrait (detail).jpg|thumb|upright|Late 17th-century laboratory glassware in the painting by [[Cornelis de Man]] ([[National Museum, Warsaw|National Museum]] in [[Warsaw]]).]]

=== Ancient era ===
The history of glassware dates back to the [[Phoenicia]]ns who fused [[obsidian]] together in [[campfire]]s, making the first glassware.  Glassware evolved as other ancient civilizations including the Syrians, Egyptians, and Romans refined the art of glassmaking. [[Mary the Jewess]], an alchemist in Alexandria during the 1st century AD, is credited for the creation of some of the first glassware for chemical such as the ''[[kerotakis]]'' which was used for the collection of fumes from a heated material.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Rasmussen |first=Seth C |date=2019-12-16 |title=A Brief History of Early Silica Glass: Impact on Science and Society |url=https://riviste.fupress.net/index.php/subs/article/view/267 |journal=Substantia |language=en |pages=125–138 Pages |doi=10.13128/SUBSTANTIA-267}}</ref> Despite these creations, glassware for chemical uses was still limited during this time because of the low thermal stability necessary for experimentation, so equipment was primarily made using [[copper]] or [[Ceramic|ceramic materials]] instead.<ref name=":0" />

=== Early modern era ===
Glassware improved once again during the 14th-16th century, with the skill and knowledge of glass makers in [[Venice]]. During this time, the Venetians gathered knowledge about glassmaking from the East with information coming from [[Syria]] and the [[Byzantine Empire]].<ref name=":0" /> Along with knowledge about glassmaking, glassmakers in Venice also received higher quality raw materials from the East such as imported plant ash which contained higher soda content compared to plant ash from other areas.<ref name=":0" /> This combination of better raw materials and information from the East led to the production of clearer and higher thermal and chemical durability leading towards the shift to the use of glassware in laboratories.<ref name=":0" />

=== Modern era ===
[[File:Women at War, 1914-1918 Q28370.jpg|thumb|A chemist with laboratory glassware, November 1918]]
Many glasses that were produced in bulk in the 1830s would quickly become unclear and dirty because of the low quality glass being used.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Espahangizi |first=Kijan |title=From Topos to Oikos: The Standardization of Glass Containers as Epistemic Boundaries in Modern Laboratory Research (1850–1900) |journal=Science in Context |year=2015 |volume=28 |issue=3 |pages=397–425|doi=10.1017/S0269889715000137 |pmid=26256505 |s2cid=45645118 |url=https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/155318/1/ZORA_NL_155318.pdf }}</ref>
During the 19th century, more chemists began to recognize the importance of glassware due to its transparency, and the ability to control the conditions of experiments.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Jackson |first=Catherine M. |date=2015-03-01 |title=The "Wonderful Properties of Glass": Liebig'sKaliapparatand the Practice of Chemistry in Glass |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/681036 |journal=Isis |volume=106 |issue=1 |pages=43–69 |doi=10.1086/681036 |pmid=26027307 |s2cid=8478216 |issn=0021-1753}}</ref> [[Jöns Jacob Berzelius]], who invented the [[test tube]], and [[Michael Faraday]] both contributed to the rise of chemical glassblowing. Faraday published ''Chemical Manipulation'' in 1827 which detailed the process for creating many types of small tube glassware and some experimental techniques for tube chemistry.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Chemical manipulation; being instructions to students in chemistry, on the methods of performing experiments of demonstration or of research, with accuracy and success / By Michael Faraday. |url=https://wellcomecollection.org/works/dmqcm6vu |access-date=2022-03-25 |website=Wellcome Collection |language=en}}</ref> Berzelius wrote a similar textbook titled ''Chemical Operations and Apparatus'' which provided a variety of chemical glassblowing techniques.<ref name=":1" /> The rise of this chemical glassblowing widened the availability of chemical experimentation and led to a shift towards the dominant use of glassware in laboratories. With the emergence of glassware in laboratories, the need for organization and standards arose. The ''Prussian Society for the Advancement of Industry'' was one of the earliest organizations to support the collaborative improvement of the quality of glass used.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Espahangizi |first=Kijan |date=2015-08-10 |title=From Topos to Oikos: The Standardization of Glass Containers as Epistemic Boundaries in Modern Laboratory Research (1850–1900) |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0269889715000137 |journal=Science in Context |volume=28 |issue=3 |pages=397–425 |doi=10.1017/s0269889715000137 |pmid=26256505 |s2cid=45645118 |issn=0269-8897|hdl=20.500.11850/103657 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

Following the development of [[borosilicate glass]] by [[Otto Schott]] in the late 19th century, most laboratory glassware was manufactured in Germany up until the start of [[World War I]].<ref name=":2">{{cite journal|last1=Jensen|first1=William|title=The origin of pyrex|journal=Journal of Chemical Education|date=2006|volume=83|issue=5|page=692|doi=10.1021/ed083p692|bibcode=2006JChEd..83..692J}}</ref>  Before World War I, glass producers in the United States had difficulty competing with German laboratory glassware manufacturers because laboratory glassware was classified as educational material and was not subject to an import tax.  During World War I, the supply of laboratory glassware to the United States was cut off.<ref name=":2" />

In 1915 [[Corning Inc.|Corning Glassworks]] developed their own borosilicate glass, introduced under the name [[Pyrex]]. This was a boon to the war effort in the United States.<ref name=":2" />  Though many laboratories turned back to imports after the war ended, research into better glassware flourished.  Glassware became more resistant to [[thermal shock]] while maintaining [[Chemically inert|chemical inertness]].<ref name="history1">{{cite journal |last1=Donnelly |first1=Alan |date=March 1970 |title=History of Laboratory Glassware |journal=Laboratory Medicine|doi=10.1093/labmed/1.3.28 }}</ref>

During the 1920s efforts to [[Standardization|standardise]] the dimensions of laboratory glassware began, particularly for [[ground glass joints]], with some manufacturer specific standardisation beginning to occur around this time. Commercial standards began development around 1930, allowing the compatibility of joints between different manufacturers for the first time, along with other features.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sella2020-01-06T12:05:00+00:00 |first=Andrea |title=The story of Quickfit, part one: Friedrich's joints |url=https://www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/the-story-of-quickfit-part-one-friedrichs-joints/4010557.article |access-date=2024-02-28 |website=Chemistry World |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The story of Quickfit, part two: Flaig’s joints |url=https://www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/the-story-of-quickfit-part-two-flaigs-joints/4010728.article |access-date=2024-02-28 |website=Chemistry World |language=en}}</ref> This quickly led to the high degree of standardisation and [[modularity]] seen in modern glassware.