blowpipe

blowpipe, a small tubular instrument for directing a jet of air or other gas into a flame in order to concentrate and increase the flame’s heat. A blowpipe is usually operated directly by mouth, but a small bellows may also be used. In mineralogy, the blowpipe technique for analyzing ores was developed by the Swedish mineralogist Baron Axel Fredrik Cronstedt. Its application in qualitative analysis was due to the work of the Swedish chemist Jöns...