Bunsen burner

A Bunsen burner, named after Robert Bunsen, is a common piece of laboratory equipment that produces a single open gas flame, which is used for heating, sterilization, and combustion. The gas can be natural gas (which is mainly methane) or a liquefied petroleum gas, such as propane, butane, or a mixture of both. In 1852 the University of Heidelberg hired Bunsen and promised him a new laboratory building. The city of Heidelberg had begun to install coal-gas street lighting, and so the university laid gas lines to the new laboratory.