Geissler’s glassware

Our department lost its mechanical workshop recently. A huge facility with all manner of mills and lathes, it was rationalised and combined with the workshops in engineering. While there were plenty of reasons why this had to happen, the decision was met with gloom. Technicians matter, and losing their experience puts at risk innovation and development that can only take place through face-to-face contact. One of the more spectacular examples of this was the glassblower Heinrich Geissler, who devised the first true high vacuum pump and permanent discharge tube.