Funnel

Pipe with a wide top and narrow bottom

For other uses, see Funnel (disambiguation).

A typical kitchen funnel A ceramic Roman kitchen funnel (1st–3rd century AD)

A funnel is a tube or pipe that is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, used for guiding liquid or powder into a small opening.[1][2]

Funnels are usually made of stainless steel, aluminium, glass, or plastic. The material used in its construction should be sturdy enough to withstand the weight of the substance being transferred, and it should not react with the substance. For this reason, stainless steel or glass are useful in transferring diesel fuel, while plastic funnels are useful in the kitchen. Sometimes disposable paper funnels are used in cases where it would be difficult to adequately clean the funnel afterwards (for example, in adding motor oil into a car). Dropper funnels, also called dropping funnels or tap funnels, have a tap to allow the controlled release of a liquid. A flat funnel,[3] made of polypropylene, utilises living hinges and flexible walls to fold flat.

The term "funnel" may refer to the chimney or smokestack on a steam locomotive and commonly refers to the same on a ship. The term funnel is also applied to other seemingly strange objects like a smoking pipe or a kitchen bin.

## Laboratory funnels

[edit]

Main article: Laboratory funnel

There are many different kinds of funnels that have been adapted for specialised applications in the laboratory, such as filter funnels and thistle funnels (shaped like thistle flowers). Dropping funnels have stopcocks which allow the fluids to be added to a flask slowly. For solids, a powder funnel with a wide and short stem is more appropriate as it does not clog easily.

When used with filter paper, filter funnels, Büchner and Hirsch funnels can be used to remove fine particles from a liquid in a process called filtration. For more demanding applications, the filter paper in the latter two may be replaced with a sintered glass frit. Separatory funnels are used in liquid-liquid extractions. The Tullgren funnel is used to collect arthropods from plant litter or similar material.[4]

### Construction

[edit]

Glass is the material of choice for laboratory applications due to its inertness compared with metals or plastics. However, plastic funnels made of nonreactive polyethylene are used for transferring aqueous solutions. Plastic is most often used for powder funnels that do not come into contact with solvent in normal use.

### Uses

[edit]

* To channel liquids or fine-grained substances into containers with a small opening. Used for pouring liquids or powder through a small opening and for holding the filter paper in filtration. Used in transferring liquids in small containers.
* Funnels known as killing cones are used to slaughter individual birds in poultry farming. The funnel is used to hold a bird upside down so that it can be bled more easily.[5]

## See also

[edit]

* Funneling (disambiguation)
* Tundish, used in plumbing and continuous casting

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Funnel". RecipeTips.com. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
2. ^ "Definition of FUNNEL". www.merriam-webster.com. 2024-12-14. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
3. ^ "Flat Funnel for Compact Storage in kitchen garage RV to funnel fluids". Flat Funnel. Archived from the original on 2016-05-28. Retrieved 2016-06-09.
4. ^ A Dictionary of Entomology. CABI. 2011. p. 172\. ISBN 978-1845935429. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
5. ^ Sparrey, J., SandercockD., Sparks, N., & Sandilands, V. (2014). Current and novel methods for killing poultry individually on-farm. World's Poultry Science Journal, 70(4), 737-758. doi:10.1017/S0043933914000816

## External links

[edit]

Look up funnel in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

* Media related to Funnel shaped objects at Wikimedia Commons
* Media related to Funnels (ship part) at Wikimedia Commons

* v
* t
* e

Hand tools

* Sawhorse
* Toolbox
* Workbench

* Adjustable spanner
* Antique tools
* Basin wrench
* Block plane
* Brace
* Bradawl
* Breaker bar
* Cat's paw
* Caulking gun
* Clamp
* Crimper
* Crowbar
* Dead-blow hammer
* Fish tape
* Gimlet
* Glass breaker
* Grease gun
* Hammer
* Hammer tacker
* Hawk
* Headlamp
* Hex key
* Hole punch
* Impact driver
* Jack
* Locking pliers
* Lug wrench
* Mallet
* Mitre box
* Monkey wrench
* Multi-tool
* Nut driver
* Paint roller
* Paintbrush
* Pencil sharpener
* Persian drill
* Pincers
* Pipe wrench
* Pliers
* Plumber wrench
* Plumber's snake
* Plunger
* Podger spanner
* Punch
* Punch down tool
* Scratch awl
* Screwdriver
* Sledgehammer
* Slide hammer
* Socket wrench
* Spike maul
* Staple gun
* Stitching awl
* Strap wrench
* Tactical light
* Tire iron
* Tongue-and-groove pliers
* Torque wrench
* Tweezers
* Upholstery hammer
* Wrench

Types of tools
Cleaning
Cutting and abrasive
Forestry
Garden
Hand
Kitchen
Machine and metalworking
Masonry
Measuring and alignment
Mining
Power
Textile
Woodworking

* v
* t
* e

Kitchen tools

* Kitchenware
* Cooking vessel
* Cookware and bakeware
* Cutlery
* Dishwashing
* Eating utensils
* Food preparation utensils
* Food storage container
* Tableware
* Teaware

* Apple corer (Apple cutter)
* Baster
* Beanpot
* Blowtorch
* Bottle opener
* Bowl
* Bread knife
* Browning tray
* Butter curler
* Cake and pie server
* Candy thermometer
* Can opener
* Cheese knife
* Cheese slicer
* Cheesecloth
* Chef's knife
* Cherry pitter
* Chinois
* Chopsticks
* Citrus reamer
* Clay pot
* Cleaver
* Colander
* Cookie cutter
* Cookie press
* Corkscrew
* Cutting board
* Edible tableware
* Egg piercer
* Egg separator
* Egg slicer
* Egg timer
* Fat separator
* Fillet knife
* Fish scaler
* Fish slice
* Flour sifter
* Food mill
* Funnel
* Garlic press
* Grapefruit knife
* Grater
* Honey dipper
* Honing steel
* Ladle
* Lame
* Lemon squeezer
* Lobster pick
* Mandoline
* Measuring cup
* Measuring spoon
* Meat grinder
* Meat tenderizer
* Meat thermometer
* Melon baller
* Mezzaluna
* Herb chopper
* Microplane
* Milk frother
* Milk watcher
* Mortar and pestle
* Nutcracker
* Nutmeg grater
* Oven glove
* Pastry bag
* Pastry blender
* Pastry brush
* Pastry wheel
* Peel
* Peeler
* Pepper mill
* Pie bird
* Pineapple cutter
* Pizza cutter
* Potato masher
* Potato ricer
* Potholder
* Poultry shears
* Roller docker
* Rolling pin
* Salt and pepper shakers
* Scissors
* Scoop
* Sieve
* Slotted spoon
* Spatula
* Spider
* Strawberry huller
* Tamis
* Tomato knife
* Tongs
* Trussing needle
* Twine
* Weighing scale
* Whisk
* Wooden spoon
* Scraper
* Dough
* Zester

* Categories
* Kitchenware
* Commons
* Kitchen utensils

Types of tools
Cleaning
Cutting and abrasive
Forestry
Garden
Hand
Kitchen
Machine and metalworking
Masonry
Measuring and alignment
Mining
Power
Textile
Woodworking

* v
* t
* e

Laboratory equipment

General

* Heaters
* Dryers

* Alcohol burner
* Bunsen burner
* Desiccator
* Heating mantle
* Hot plate
* Lab oven
* Kiln
* Meker–Fisher burner
* Striker
* Teclu burner
* Water bath
* Vacuum dry box

|

* Mixers
* Shakers

* Chemostat
* Homogenizer
* Liquid whistle
* Magnetic stirrer
* Mortar and pestle
* Shaker
* Sonicator
* Static mixer
* Stirring rod
* Vortex mixer
* Wash bottle

* Stands
* Clamps

* Holders

* Beaker clamp
* Clamp holder
* Tripod
* Burette clamp
* Extension clamp
* Flask clamp
* Funnel support
* Iron ring
* Pinch clamp
* Retort stand
* Screw clamp
* Test tube holder
* Test tube rack
* Wire gauze
* Lab drying rack

* Containers

* Storage

* Agar plate
* Cryogenic storage dewar
* Incubator
* Laminar flow cabinet
* Microtiter plate
* Petri dish
* Picotiter plate
* Refrigerator
* Weighing boat
* Weighing dish

Other items|

* Aspirator
* Autoclave
* Balance brush
* Cork borer
* Crucible
* Filter paper
* File
* Forceps
* Centrifuge
* Microscope
* Pipeclay triangle
* Spectrophotometer
* Splint
* Stopper
* Scoopula
* Spatula
* Test tube brush
* Wire brush
* Inoculation needle
* Inoculation loop

Glassware

| Apparatus|

* Dean–Stark
* Soxhlet extractor
* Kipp's

|

Bottles|

* Boston round

Condensers|

* Cold finger
* Liebig

Dishes|

* Evaporating
* Petri
* Syracuse
* Watch glass

Flasks|

* Büchner
* Vacuum (Dewar)
* Erlenmeyer
* Fernbach
* Fleaker
* Florence
* Retort
* Round-bottom
* Schlenk
* Volumetric

Funnels|

* Büchner
* Hirsch
* Dropping
* Separatory

Measuring devices|

* Burette
* Conical measure
* Cuvette
* Eye dropper
* Eudiometer
* Graduated cylinder
* Ostwald viscometer
* Pipette

Tubes|

* Drying
* Cragie
* Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)
* Test
* Thiele
* Thistle

Other items|

* Beaker
* Bell jar
* Gas syringe
* Vial

Analytical chemistry

| Compositional|

* AutoAnalyzer
* CHN analyzer
* Colorimeter
* Inductively coupled plasma (ICP) device
* Gas chromatograph (GC)
* Liquid chromatograph (LC)
* Mass spectrometer (MS)
* pH indicator
* pH meter

|

Microscopy|

* Scanning electron microscope (SEM)
* Transmission electron microscope (TEM)

Thermochemistry|

* Calorimeter
* differential scanning
* Melting-point apparatus
* Thermometer
* Thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA)

Other items|

* Analytical balance
* Colony counter
* Spiral plater
* Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) instrument
* Plate reader

Electronics

| Control devices|

* Bench power supply
* Current source
* Voltage source
* Function generator
* Galvanostat
* Pulse generator
* Potentiostat

|

Measurement|

* Ammeter
* Logic analyzer
* Multimeter
* Network analyzer
* Oscilloscope
* Spectrum analyzer
* Time-domain reflectometer
* Transistor tester
* Voltmeter

Tools|

* Heat gun
* Soldering iron
* Tweezers
* Wire stripper

General|

* Alligator clip
* Test probe

Safety

Personal protective
equipment (PPE)

* Lab coat
* Face shield
* Respirator
* Rubber apron
* Safety shower

Eye and hand|

* Acid-resistant gloves
* Eyewash station
* Glove box
* Medical gloves
* Nitrile gloves
* Safety glasses
* Safety goggles

Other items|

* Biosafety cabinet
* Fire blanket
* Fire extinguisher
* Fume hood
* Safety cabinet
* Solvent cabinet

Instruments used in medical laboratories
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template