What Is Alembic Used for?

Alembic, apparatus for distillation used chiefly by alchemists. It was rendered obsolete and superseded by more convenient forms of stills for both experimental and industrial purposes.

What is alembic and how does it work?

Alembics are used to distill, or separate and purify, substances. They are often made of glass to enable observation, but can also be ceramic or copper, and they have two parts. ... When heat is applied the substance inside begins boiling, and its vapours rise and flow through the tube.

What does an alembic do?

Alembic: A type of still, an apparatus used in the process of distillation. Alembics were employed in chemistry and biomedical laboratories as well as in distilling cognac. By extension, "alembic" is anything that refines or transmutes as if by distillation. For example, the alembic of the surgeon's mind.