Bunsen burner

A Bunsen burner

A Bunsen burner is a common piece of laboratory equipment. It is commonly used for heating chemical substances, sterilization, and combustion. It works by burning flammable gas. It is named after Robert Wilhelm Bunsen, a German chemist. He made important improvements on an earlier burner invented by Michael Faraday.

The Bunsen burner can be adjusted to make a flame that is very hot without making much light. This allows seeing the different colors that various chemicals make when they are sprinkled into the flame.