A pipeclay triangle is a piece of

laboratory A laboratory (; ; colloquially lab) is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific or technological research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. Laboratories are found in a variety of settings such as schools ...

apparatus that is used to support a

crucible A crucible is a container in which metals or other substances may be melted or subjected to very high temperatures. Although crucibles have historically tended to be made out of clay, they can be made from any material that withstands temperat ...

or other object being heated by a

Bunsen burner A Bunsen burner, named after Robert Bunsen, is a kind of ambient air gas burner used as laboratory equipment; it produces a single open gas flame, and is used for heating, sterilization, and combustion. The gas can be natural gas (which is main ...

or other heat source. It is made of wires strung in an

equilateral triangle An equilateral triangle is a triangle in which all three sides have the same length, and all three angles are equal. Because of these properties, the equilateral triangle is a regular polygon, occasionally known as the regular triangle. It is the ...

on which are strung hollow

ceramic A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcela ...

, normally

fire clay Fire clay is a range of refractory clays used in the manufacture of ceramics, especially fire brick. The United States Environmental Protection Agency defines fire clay very generally as a "mineral aggregate composed of hydrous silicates of alumi ...

, tubes. The triangle is usually supported on a

tripod A tripod is a portable three-legged frame or stand, used as a platform for supporting the weight and maintaining the stability of some other object. The three-legged (triangular stance) design provides good stability against gravitational loads ...

or iron ring. Unlike

wire gauze Wire gauze or wire mesh is a gauze woven of metal wire, or very fine, gauze-like wire netting. Wire gauze is placed on the support ring that is attached to the retort stand between a burner and glassware, or is placed on a tripod to support b ...

, which primarily supports

glassware upTypical drinkware. This list of glassware includes drinking vessels (drinkware), tableware used to set a table for eating a meal and generally glass items such as vases, and glasses used in the catering industry. It does not include laboratory ...

such as beakers,

flask Flask may refer to: Container * Hip flask, a small container used to carry liquid * Laboratory flask, laboratory glassware for holding larger volumes than simple test tubes ** Erlenmeyer flask, a common laboratory flask with a flat bottom, a c ...

s, or

evaporating dish An evaporating dish is a piece of laboratory glassware used for the evaporation of solutions and supernatant liquids, and sometimes to their melting point. Evaporating dishes are used to evaporate excess solvents – most commonly water – to p ...

es and provides indirect heat transfer to the glassware, the pipeclay triangle normally supports a crucible and allows the flame to heat the crucible directly. The triangular shape allows rounded crucibles of various sizes to rest in a stable way.

References

Laboratory equipment {{chem-stub