16 Comments Posted by JohnBlack

wrote:
Most likely this was used for water distillation. Water is heated up, changed to vapor which then exits the container through the smaller output tube on the top - the water vapor then recondenses back to a liquid in a purer form in another collecting container. Impurities whose melting/vaporization point is much higher than water is left behind in the container with the heating coil.

This process can be used to separate any two liquids capable of existing as a gas at sufficiently different boiling points.

i.e. If liquid A becomes a gas at 120F and Liquid B becomes a gas 212F and the two are mixed together in one container they can be separated again by heating the container up to 150F. Liquid A will become a gas while liquid B will remain a liquid. The gas can then be collected and cooled back to its lquid form.

There are some corollary rules depending on the composition of the substances being distilled. (Some substances may actually break down when they are heated so that they never regain their original liquid form during condensation). This is particularly true of liquids made up of several different substances all of which may have differing boiling points.

In most environments this is done to purify water. However, in a medical environment perhaps they were actually interested in the substances left behind from distillation.

Sodium or other minerals from urine for analysis perhaps? An early way to identify calcium oxalate? - The last is speculation on my part. Lynne...opinions??