Beaker (drinkware)
A beaker is a beverage container, and a term used in parts of the UK. A beaker is typically a non-disposable plastic or ceramic cup or mug without a handle, much like a laboratory beaker. It has no reference to the fictional character Tracy Beaker.
Beaker is particularly commonly used to describe a lidded cup designed for toddlers or small children, with a no-spill mouthpiece incorporated into the lid.
In North American English, the term is almost exclusively used in the laboratory context.
See also
Beaker
Beaker may refer to:
Beaker (Muppet)
Beaker is a Muppet character from The Muppet Show. He is the shy, long-suffering assistant of Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, and is likewise named after a piece of laboratory equipment.
During the first season of The Muppet Show, Dr. Honeydew presented the Muppet Labs segments by himself; Beaker was added as his lab assistant from the second season on. Beaker has bulging eyes, a shock of red hair, and a drawbridge mouth. He was originally puppeteered and voiced by Richard Hunt until Hunt's death in 1992, when the role was taken over primarily by Steve Whitmire.
Beaker is a magnet for disaster; he routinely experiences mishaps such as being blown up, electrocuted, eaten by large monsters, or afflicted with awkward side effects caused by Dr. Bunsen Honeydew's experiments. Beaker communicates in a nervous, high-pitched squeak that sounds like "Mee-mee-mee mee". In books and merchandise, the sound is spelled "Meep". In The Muppet Movie he appeared to say something other than "mee" or "meep" (he "meeps" Honeydew's previous line "sadly temporary"). His tone or expression helps to communicate his meaning. "Meep" and "mee" are pronounced to rhyme with "beep" and "bee", respectively.
Beaker (glassware)
A beaker is a simple container for stirring, mixing and heating liquids commonly used in many laboratories. Beakers are generally cylindrical in shape, with a flat bottom. Most also have a small spout (or "beak") to aid pouring as shown in the picture. Beakers are available in a wide range of sizes, from one millilitre up to several litres.
Structure & Common Uses
Standard or "low-form" beakers typically have a height about 1.4 times the diameter. The common low form with a spout was devised by John Joseph Griffin and is therefore sometimes called a Griffin beaker. These are the most universal character and are used for various purposes - from preparing solutions and decanting supernatant fluids to holding waste fluids prior to disposal to performing simple reactions. In short, low form beakers are likely to be used in some way when performing just about any chemical experiment.
"Tall-form" (B) beakers have a height about twice their diameter. These are sometimes called Berzelius beakers and are mostly used for titration.
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