A heated bath is used in the

laboratory A laboratory (; ; colloquially lab) is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific or technological research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. Laboratory services are provided in a variety of settings: physicia ...

to allow a

chemical reaction A chemical reaction is a process that leads to the IUPAC nomenclature for organic transformations, chemical transformation of one set of chemical substances to another. Classically, chemical reactions encompass changes that only involve the pos ...

to occur at an elevated temperature. The heated bath is a fluid placed in an open (metal) pot.

Water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a ...

and

silicone oil A silicone oil is any liquid polymerized siloxane with organic side chains. The most important member is polydimethylsiloxane. These polymers are of commercial interest because of their relatively high thermal stability, lubricating, and Liquid di ...

are the most commonly used fluids. A water bath is used for temperatures up to 100 °C. An

oil bath An oil bath is a type of heated bath used in a laboratory, most commonly used to heat up chemical reactions. It's essentially a container of oil that is heated by a hot plate or (in rare cases) a Bunsen burner. Use These baths are commonly used ...

is employed for temperatures over 100 °C. The heated bath is heated on a

hot plate A hot plate is a portable self-contained tabletop small appliance cooktop that features one or more electric heating elements or gas burners. A hot plate can be used as a stand-alone appliance, but is often used as a substitute for one of the b ...

, or with 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 ...

. The reaction chamber (

Florence flask A Florence flask/boiling flask is a type of flask used as an item of laboratory glassware and is named after the city Florence. It is used as a container to hold liquids. A Florence flask has a round body, a long neck, and often a flat bottom. ...

Erlenmeyer flask An Erlenmeyer flask, also known as a conical flask (British English) or a titration flask, is a type of laboratory flask which features a flat bottom, a conical body, and a cylindrical neck. It is named after the German chemist Emil Erlenmeyer ...

, or beaker) is immersed in the heated bath. A

thermometer A thermometer is a device that temperature measurement, measures temperature or a temperature gradient (the degree of hotness or coldness of an object). A thermometer has two important elements: (1) a temperature sensor (e.g. the bulb of a merc ...

is usually kept in the fluid to monitor the temperature.

See also