Editing Retort (section)

==History==
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]].{{cn|date=May 2022}}

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.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Thomson |first=Robert Dundas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1LxBAAAAcAAJ&q=clay+retort+&pg=PA416 |title=Dictionary of Chemistry with Its Applications to Mineralogy, Physiology and the Arts |date=1870 |publisher=Rich. Griffin |language=en}}</ref>

The term ''retort'' comes by way of [[Middle French language|Middle French]], but ultimately from [[Latin language|Latin]] ''retortus'', twisted back, for the shape of the neck.