retort
1. a glass vessel with a round bulb and long tapering neck that is bent down, used esp in a laboratory for distillation
2. a vessel in which large quantities of material may be heated, esp one used for heating ores in the production of metals or heating coal to produce gas
Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
retort
[ri′tȯrt] (chemical engineering)
A closed refractory chamber in which coal is carbonized for manufacture of coal gas.
A vessel for the distillation or decomposition of a substance.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.
Retort
a type of chemical laboratory vessel made of refractory glass, porcelain, or metal. Retorts are used for carrying out reactions at high temperatures, for distillation, and for other operations.
The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.