An iron ring or ring clamp is an item of

laboratory A laboratory (; ; colloquially lab) is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific or technological research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. Laboratories are found in a variety of settings such as schools ...

equipment which comprises a conjoined metal ring and radially-extending rod. In some cases, the rod terminates in a screw clamp for attachment to a

retort stand In chemistry, a retort stand, also called a clamp stand,Laboratory-Equipment.com (2020):Large Clamp Stand, for Q700. Online catalog item 5323-07. Accessed on 202-02-18. a ring stand, or a support stand,Fischer Scientific (2020):American Education ...

or other support; in others, the rod may be attached to a stand by means of a laboratory clamp holder. Iron rings are commonly used in chemistry laboratories for supporting apparatus above the work surface, for example: * a tapered item such as a

filter funnel A filter funnel is a laboratory funnel used for separating solids from liquids via the laboratory process of filter (chemistry), filtering. In order to achieve this, a cone-like shaped piece of filter paper is usually folded into a cone and placed ...

separatory funnel A separatory funnel, also known as a separation funnel, separating funnel, or colloquially sep funnel, is a piece of laboratory glassware used in liquid-liquid extractions to separate (''partition'') the components of a mixture into two miscible, i ...

. * a clay triangle, which itself supports an item such as a

crucible A crucible is a container in which metals or other substances may be melted or subjected to very high temperatures. Although crucibles have historically tended to be made out of clay, they can be made from any material that withstands temperat ...

. * a

wire gauze Wire gauze or wire mesh is a gauze woven of metal wire, or very fine, gauze-like wire netting. Wire gauze is placed on the support ring that is attached to the retort stand between a burner and glassware, or is placed on a tripod to support b ...

, which itself supports a flat-bottomed beaker or conical flask. * a large, and therefore heavy,

round-bottom flask Round-bottom flasks (also called round-bottomed flasks or RB flasks) are types of flasks having spherical bottoms used as laboratory glassware, mostly for chemical or biochemical work. They are typically made of glass for chemical inertness; ...

. In some cases, a slot is cut in the side of the ring opposite the rod. This is to allow a funnel to be placed upon and removed from the ring from the side rather than from above, a safer procedure.

References

Laboratory equipment {{chemistry-stub