Object Details
- Jena Glasswork, Schott & Associates
- Description (Brief)
- This object is a 400 mL Florence flask made by Schott & Genossen. The Florence flask is characterized by a long neck and rounded bottom with a flat base. It is useful as a reaction vessel as well as for heating solutions.
- Glastechnisches Laboratorium Schott und Genossen (Glass Technology Laboratory, Schott & Associates), later the Jenaer Glasswerk Schott & Gen. (Jena Glassworks, Schott & Associates), was founded in 1884 by Otto Schott (1851–1935), Ernst Abbe (1840–1905), Carl Zeiss (1816–1888), and Zeiss' son Roderick.
- In 1881 Schott, a chemist from a family of glassmakers, and Abbe, a physicist with an interest in optics, formed a research partnership. Together they hoped to perfect a chemical glass formula for lenses in optical instruments like microscopes and telescopes. Their original goal was to develop glasses of high quality and purity with consistent optical properties. As their research expanded, they eventually developed the first borosilicate glasses. Their strength against chemical attack and low coefficient of thermal expansion made them better suited to the harsh circumstances of the chemical laboratory than any other glass.
- Jena Glass quickly became a success among the scientific community, widely considered the best on the market until World War I.
- This object is part of a collection donated by Barbara Keppel, wife of C. Robert Keppel. Robert Keppel taught at the University of Nebraska-Omaha after receiving his B.S. in Chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley, and his Ph.D. in organic chemistry from M.I.T. The glassware in the Keppel collection covers the 19th and early 20th centuries.
- Sources:
- Baker, Ray Stannard. Seen in Germany. Chautauqua, N. Y.: 1908. http://hdl.handle.net/2027/nyp.33433043165608.
- Cauwood, J.D., and W.E.S. Turner. “The Attack of Chemical Reagents on Glass Surfaces, and a Comparison of Different Types of Chemical Glassware.” Journal of the Society of Glass Technology 1 (1917): 153–62.
- Estridge, Barbara H., Anna P. Reynolds, and Norma J. Walters. Basic Medical Laboratory Techniques. Cengage Learning, 2000.
- Hovestadt, Heinrich. Jena Glass and Its Scientific and Industrial Applications. London, New York: Macmillan, 1902.
- National Museum of American History Accession File #1985.0311
- Pfaender, H. G. Schott Guide to Glass. Springer Science & Business Media, 2012.
- “University of Nebraska Omaha.” 2015. Accessed May 4. http://www.unomaha.edu/college-of-arts-and-sciences/chemistry/student-opportunities/scholarships.php.
- Walker, Percy H. Comparative Tests of Chemical Glassware. Washington, D.C.: 1918. http://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015086545707.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Credit Line
- Gift of Barbara A. Keppel
- after 1884
- ID Number
- 1985.0311.024
- catalog number
- 1985.0311.024
- accession number
- 1985.0311
- Object Name
- Florence Flask
- Measurements
- overall: 16.5 cm; 6 1/2 in
- See more items in
- Medicine and Science: Chemistry
- Science Under Glass
- Science & Mathematics
- National Museum of American History
- Subject
- Science & Scientific Instruments
- Record ID
- nmah_1053
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a0-e97c-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
