A Bunsen burner is a common piece of laboratory equipment used to produce an open flame for heating, sterilization, and combustion experiments. Invented by German chemist Robert Bunsen** in 1855 (with his assistant Peter Desdega), it became the defining symbol of school chemistry labs worldwide.
The burner mixes gas (usually natural gas or propane) with air in a adjustable tube, producing a flame that can range from a yellow, luminous flicker to a sharp blue, nearly invisible cone. The blue flame is the hottest — around 1,500°C — and is used for most heating tasks, while the yellow flame is cooler and more visible, useful for demonstrations.
Why It Matters
The Bunsen burner revolutionized chemistry. Before its invention, laboratories relied on candles, alcohol lamps, and furnaces — all imprecise and dangerous. Bunsen’s design allowed scientists to control temperature precisely for the first time, enabling breakthroughs in spectroscopy, organic synthesis, and materials science.
For generations of students, the Bunsen burner is the first dangerous thing they’re allowed to touch in school. The ritual of lighting one — striker in hand, gas valve turned, the satisfying whump of ignition — is a universal memory of secondary education.
Examples
- Flame tests: Spraying metal salts into a Bunsen flame produces characteristic colors (sodium = yellow, copper = green).
- School labs: The first equipment students learn to use safely.
- Sterilization: In microbiology, the blue flame sterilizes inoculation loops.
Related Terms
- Laboratory equipment, gas flame
- Combustion, spectroscopy
- Chemistry, science education