What would you say is more useful, a test tube or a conical flask? :)

Question: What would you say is more useful, a test tube or a conical flask? :)
- Keywords:
  scientific equipment
Asked by specialsam96 to Ben, Jony, Katharine, Mark, Peter on 17 Nov 2011.
- Jony Hudson answered on 16 Nov 2011:
  
  Depends on what you’re doing. At least you can put a conical flask down, which seems like a plus. Anyway, I’m a physicist, I don’t muck around with dirty chemistry equipment 🙂
- Mark Basham answered on 16 Nov 2011:
  
  As a physicist I’m going to say a test tube, cause its easier to approximate to a tube.
- Ben Still answered on 17 Nov 2011:
  
  I too don’t do chemistry so don’t really have a preference.
- Katharine Schofield answered on 17 Nov 2011:
  
  Well, I asked my friend Derek the Chemist, and this is what he said:
  “Hmmm, well, that one set the cat among the chemistry pigeons!
  
  If you mean one conical flask vs. one test-tube, I reckon the conical flask wins hands-down – test tubes get used most commonly for collecting fractions during purification processes, but having only one of them is totally useless in that regards. On the other hand, one conical flask is at least useful for some things. On the other hand, if we had a *rack* of test tubes to play with, then it’s a different story.
  
  Basically, we concluded that both of them are bits of kit that you don’t really use very often beyond basic undergraduate level chemistry, and the round-bottomed flask knocks both of them out of the park in terms of being genuinely useful.
  
  *Turns off laboratory geekiness* ”
  
  so there you have it….
- Peter Williams answered on 17 Nov 2011:
  
  A Liebig condenser

Question: What would you say is more useful, a test tube or a conical flask? :)

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