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An alembic (from , originating from , 'cup, beaker') is an alchemical still consisting of two vessels connected by a tube, used for distillation of liquids.
Dioscorides's ambix, described in his (c. 50 C.E.), is a helmet-shaped lid for gathering condensed mercury. For Athenaeus (c. 225 C.E.) it is a bottle or flask. For later chemists it denoted various parts of crude distillation devices.
Alembic drawings appear in works of Cleopatra the Alchemist (3rd century C.E.), Zosimos of Panopolis (c. 300 C.E.), and Synesius (c. 373 – c. 414 C.E.). There were alembics with two (dibikos) and three (tribikos) receivers. According to Zosimos of Panopolis, the alembic was invented by Mary the Jewess.
The anbik is described by Ibn al-Awwam in his (''Book of Agriculture''), where he explains how rose-water is distilled. Amongst others, it is mentioned in the (''Key of Sciences'') of Khwarizmi and the (''Book of Secrets'') of al-Razi. Some illustrations occur in the Latin translations of works which are attributed to Geber.
File:Man Paris, Grec 2327 fol 83v.jpg, Alembic of Zosimos of Panopolis
File:Alembic (PSF).jpg, Modern alembic
File:AlambicCharentaisChalvignacPrulhoDistillation.jpg, Large "charentais" type alembic for distilling spirits
File:Alambique 056.jpg, Copper retort
File:Alembic.jpg, Glass alembic
File:Chemical Faculty of TUG, staircase.jpg, Alembic metalwork in the staircase at the Chemical Faculty of Gdańsk University of Technology, 1904
Description
The complete distilling apparatus consists of three parts: * the "" (Arabic: ; Greek: , ), the still pot containing the liquid to be distilled, which is heated by a flame * the "head" or "cap" (, ; Greek , ) which fits over the mouth of the cucurbit to receive the vapors, with an attached downward-sloping "tube" (, ) * the "receiver" (, ; , or , ) container In the case of another distilling vessel, the retort, the "cap" and the "cucurbit" have been combined to form a single vessel. The anbik is also called the ''raʾs'' (the Arabic word ''raʾs'' means "head") of the cucurbit. The liquid in the cucurbit is heated or boiled; the vapour rises into the ''anbik'', where it cools by contact with the walls and condenses, running down the spout into the receiver. A modern descendant of the alembic is the pot still, used to produce distilled beverages.History
Dioscorides's ambix, described in his (c. 50 C.E.), is a helmet-shaped lid for gathering condensed mercury. For Athenaeus (c. 225 C.E.) it is a bottle or flask. For later chemists it denoted various parts of crude distillation devices.
Alembic drawings appear in works of Cleopatra the Alchemist (3rd century C.E.), Zosimos of Panopolis (c. 300 C.E.), and Synesius (c. 373 – c. 414 C.E.). There were alembics with two (dibikos) and three (tribikos) receivers. According to Zosimos of Panopolis, the alembic was invented by Mary the Jewess.
The anbik is described by Ibn al-Awwam in his (''Book of Agriculture''), where he explains how rose-water is distilled. Amongst others, it is mentioned in the (''Key of Sciences'') of Khwarizmi and the (''Book of Secrets'') of al-Razi. Some illustrations occur in the Latin translations of works which are attributed to Geber.
Unicode
The Unicode character set specifies three symbols for alembics: thepictogram
A pictogram (also pictogramme, pictograph, or simply picto) is a graphical symbol that conveys meaning through its visual resemblance to a physical object. Pictograms are used in systems of writing and visual communication. A pictography is a wri ...
⚗ (), its emoji
An emoji ( ; plural emoji or emojis; , ) is a pictogram, logogram, ideogram, or smiley embedded in text and used in electronic messages and web pages. The primary function of modern emoji is to fill in emotional cues otherwise missing from type ...
variation ⚗️ (), and the ancient alchemical symbol 🝪 ().
See also
* AludelReferences
External links
* {{Authority control Alchemical tools Arab inventions