Materials for Microscale Science Experimentation .Disposable and low-cost materials

Disposable materials are article of daily use that are usually brought to Recycling.
Recycling includes the reprocessing materials like used packings (made of glass, plastic, aluminium, tinplate, composed material)  into"secondary raw materials".
Recycling reduces the consumption of fresh raw materials and energy. Expecially the virgin production of aluminium consumes huge quantities of electricity.

1. No-cost disposable materials (packings)
Packings are high quality containers for safe storage and attractive presentation of food, cosmetics, medicine and other articles of daily use.
Some of these containers can be reused as no-cost materials for science experimentation (El-Marsafy).
These materials are available new at many places (rutkalab@t-online.de).
1.1 TetraPak container(tray, container for a kit, dust bin).
1.2y Ampoules (test tubes, for the generation and collecting of gases, as a micro spirit burner, as a distillation apparatus, as an Erlenmeyer flask, for germination of grain, electrolysis, as eudiometer).
1.3 Metal closure of a Liquemin ampoule (200-mg weights). 
1.4 Food can (stand for 7 ampoules to be heated on a candle burner).
1.5 Infusion bottle (safe storage and for extinguishing of an ampoule burner, its stopper as a stand for this burner).
1.6 Dropper bottles  (making 1M solutions, storage, distributing in drops)
1.7 Blister packings (no-cost substitute for a wellplate),
1.8 Film canister (container to store hygroscopic substances (NaOH, Ca) tightly
1.9 Piezo fuse (from a disposable cigarette lighter for ignition of gas mixtures)
1.10 Drinking straw (spatula)
       Container of a tea light (container for weighing, for reaction of Ca and water)

2. Low-cost disposable materials
2.1 Syringes
!! SYRINGES and HYPODERMIC NEEDLES only from a PHARMACY !!
2.2 Plastic pipettes        2.1 glass pipette from eye drops
2.3Plastic pipette tip and infusion tube to assemble a distillation apparatus
2.4 Pencil leads as electrodes
2.5 Leukosilk for labelling ampoules and dropper bottles
2.6 tissue-culture micro-wellplates
.

3. Low-cost measuring instruments
3.1 Balances
3.2 Multimeter (temperature, voltage, current).


back .......first publication: 12.06.2008          .last modification: 20 .09.2008