Cork borer

Last updated
Set of cork borers. Left to right sizes 6,7,8,9 nested, size 5, American penny for scale, sizes 4,3,2,1 nested, pusher. Background is 1/4" square graph paper. Corkborer2.jpg
Set of cork borers. Left to right sizes 6,7,8,9 nested, size 5, American penny for scale, sizes 4,3,2,1 nested, pusher. Background is 1/4" square graph paper.

A cork borer, often used in a chemistry or biology laboratory, is a metal tool for cutting a hole in a cork or rubber stopper to insert glass tubing. [1] Cork borers usually come in a set of nested sizes along with a solid pin for pushing the removed cork (or rubber) out of the borer. The individual borer is a hollow tube, tapered at the edge, generally with some kind of handle at the other end.

Chemistry is the scientific discipline involved with elements and compounds composed of atoms, molecules and ions: their composition, structure, properties, behavior and the changes they undergo during a reaction with other substances.

Laboratory facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific or technological research, experiments, and measurement may be performed.

A laboratory is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific or technological research, experiments, and measurement may be performed.

A separate device is a cork borer sharpener used to hone the cutting edge to more easily slice the cork.

Cork borers are also used to take samples from living trees, for tree ring analysis (dendrochronology), and for taking samples for experiments when a constant diameter is required, e.g. When testing the water potential of a potato, a cork borer is used to maintain a constant surface area.

Water potential is the potential energy of water per unit volume relative to pure water in reference conditions. Water potential quantifies the tendency of water to move from one area to another due to osmosis, gravity, mechanical pressure, or matrix effects such as capillary action. The concept of water potential has proved useful in understanding and computing water movement within plants, animals, and soil. Water potential is typically expressed in potential energy per unit volume and very often is represented by the Greek letter ψ.

Cork borer is also used to punch holes on an agar plate, to perform Well Diffusion assays in microbiology to study Bioactivity.

Microbiology study of microscopic organisms

Microbiology is the study of microorganisms, those being unicellular, multicellular, or acellular. Microbiology encompasses numerous sub-disciplines including virology, parasitology, mycology and bacteriology.

Related Research Articles

Cork (material) material derived from the cork oak

Cork is an impermeable buoyant material, the phellem layer of bark tissue that is harvested for commercial use primarily from Quercus suber, which is endemic to southwest Europe and northwest Africa. Cork is composed of suberin, a hydrophobic substance. Because of its impermeable, buoyant, elastic, and fire retardant properties, it is used in a variety of products, the most common of which is wine stoppers. The montado landscape of Portugal produces approximately half of cork harvested annually worldwide, with Corticeira Amorim being the leading company in the industry. Cork was examined microscopically by Robert Hooke, which led to his discovery and naming of the cell.

Chainsaw

A chainsaw is a portable, mechanical saw which cuts with a set of teeth attached to a rotating chain that runs along a guide bar. It is used in activities such as tree felling, limbing, bucking, pruning, cutting firebreaks in wildland fire suppression and harvesting of firewood. Chainsaws with specially designed bar and chain combinations have been developed as tools for use in chainsaw art and chainsaw mills. Specialized chainsaws are used for cutting concrete. Chainsaws are sometimes used for cutting ice, for example for ice sculpture and in Finland for winter swimming. Someone who uses a saw is a sawyer.

<i>Quercus suber</i> species of plant

Quercus suber, commonly called the cork oak, is a medium-sized, evergreen oak tree in the section Quercus sect. Cerris. It is the primary source of cork for wine bottle stoppers and other uses, such as cork flooring and as the cores of cricket balls. It is native to southwest Europe and northwest Africa. In the Mediterranean basin the tree is an ancient species with fossil remnants dating back to the Tertiary period.

Northern flicker member of the woodpecker family

The northern flicker or common flicker is a medium-sized bird of the woodpecker family. It is native to most of North America, parts of Central America, Cuba, and the Cayman Islands, and is one of the few woodpecker species that migrate. Over 100 common names for the northern flicker are known, including yellowhammer, clape, gaffer woodpecker, harry-wicket, heigh-ho, wake-up, walk-up, wick-up, yarrup, and gawker bird. Many of these names derive from attempts to imitate some of its calls.

Grommet ring or edge strip inserted into a hole through thin material, typically of metal or plastic

A grommet is a ring or edge strip inserted into a hole through thin material, typically a sheet of textile fabric, sheet metal or composite of carbon fiber, wood or honeycomb. Grommets are generally flared or collared on each side to keep them in place, and are often made of metal, plastic, or rubber. They may be used to prevent tearing or abrasion of the pierced material or protection from abrasion of the insulation on the wire, cable, line being routed through the penetration, and to cover sharp edges of the piercing, or all of the above.

Drill bit

Drill bits are cutting tools used to remove material to create holes, almost always of circular cross-section. Drill bits come in many sizes and shapes and can create different kinds of holes in many different materials. In order to create holes drill bits are usually attached to a drill, which powers them to cut through the workpiece, typically by rotation. The drill will grasp the upper end of a bit called the shank in the chuck.

Plant propagation

Plant propagation is the process of growing new plants from a variety of sources: seeds, cuttings, and other plant parts. Plant propagation can also refer to the artificial or natural dispersal of plants.

Bung

A bung, stopper or cork is a truncated cylindrical or conical closure to seal a container, such as a bottle, tube or barrel. Unlike a lid, which encloses a container from the outside without displacing the inner volume, a bung is partially inserted inside the container to act as a seal.

Drilling cutting process that uses a drill bit to cut a hole of circular cross-section in solid materials

Drilling is a cutting process that uses a drill bit to cut a hole of circular cross-section in solid materials. The drill bit is usually a rotary cutting tool, often multi-point. The bit is pressed against the work-piece and rotated at rates from hundreds to thousands of revolutions per minute. This forces the cutting edge against the work-piece, cutting off chips (swarf) from the hole as it is drilled.

A reamer is a type of rotary cutting tool used in metalworking. Precision reamers are designed to enlarge the size of a previously formed hole by a small amount but with a high degree of accuracy to leave smooth sides. There are also non-precision reamers which are used for more basic enlargement of holes or for removing burrs. The process of enlarging the hole is called reaming. There are many different types of reamer and they may be designed for use as a hand tool or in a machine tool, such as a milling machine or drill press.

Emerald ash borer species of insect

The emerald ash borer is a green buprestid or jewel beetle native to north-eastern Asia that feeds on ash species. Females lay eggs in bark crevices on ash trees, and larvae feed underneath the bark of ash trees to emerge as adults in one to two years. In its native range, it is typically found at low densities and does not cause significant damage to trees native to the area. Outside its native range, it is an invasive species and is highly destructive to ash trees native to northwest Europe and North America. Prior to being found in North America, very little was known about emerald ash borer in its native range; this has resulted in much of the research on its biology being focused in North America. Local governments in North America are attempting to control it by monitoring its spread, diversifying tree species, insecticides, and biological control.

Crosscut saw saw

A crosscut saw is any saw designed for cutting wood perpendicular to (across) the wood grain. Crosscut saws may be small or large, with small teeth close together for fine work like woodworking or large for coarse work like log bucking, and can be a hand tool or power tool.

This article is the index of forestry topics.

Boring (manufacturing) process of enlarging a hole that has already been drilled

In machining, boring is the process of enlarging a hole that has already been drilled by means of a single-point cutting tool, such as in boring a gun barrel or an engine cylinder. Boring is used to achieve greater accuracy of the diameter of a hole, and can be used to cut a tapered hole. Boring can be viewed as the internal-diameter counterpart to turning, which cuts external diameters.

A raise borer is a machine used in underground mining, to excavate a circular hole between two levels of a mine without the use of explosives.

The jig borer is a type of machine tool invented at the end of World War I to make possible the location of hole centers quickly and precisely. It was invented independently in Switzerland and the United States. It resembles a specialized species of milling machine that provides tool and die makers with a higher degree of positioning precision (repeatability) and accuracy than those general machines had provided. Although capable of light milling, a jig borer is more suited to highly accurate drilling, boring, and reaming, where the quill or headstock does not see the significant side loading that it would with mill work. The result is a machine designed more for location accuracy than heavy material removal.

This glossary of woodworking lists a number of specialized terms and concepts used in woodworking, carpentry, and related disciplines.

Increment borer

An increment borer is a specialized tool used to extract a section of wood tissue from a living tree with relatively minor injury to the plant itself. The tool consists of a handle, an auger bit and a small, half circular metal tray that fits into the auger bit; the last is usually manufactured from carbide steel. It is most often used by foresters, researchers and scientists to determine the age of a tree. This science is also called dendrochronology. The operation enables the user to count the rings in the core sample, to reveal the age of the tree being examined and its growth rate. After use the tool breaks down: auger bit and extractor fit within the handle, making it highly compact and easy to carry.

Pheromone trap

A pheromone trap is a type of insect trap that uses pheromones to lure insects. Sex pheromones and aggregating pheromones are the most common types used. A pheromone-impregnated lure, as the red rubber septa in the picture, is encased in a conventional trap such as a bottle trap, Delta trap, water-pan trap, or funnel trap. Pheromone traps are used both to count insect populations by sampling, and to trap pests such as clothes moths to destroy them.

Laboratory rubber stopper

A laboratory rubber stopper or a rubber bung is mainly used in chemical laboratory in combination with flasks and test tube and also for fermentation in winery. Generally, in laboratory, the sizes of rubber stopper can be varied up to approximately 16 sizes and each of it is specific to certain type of container. As the rubber stopper is used in many experiment, some specific experiment requires a specific material. For example, the M35 Green Neoprene is for chemical resistance. For food fermentation, M18 white natural gum is preferred. For high temperature application, red or white silicone rubber stopper should be used.

References

  1. Poliakoff, Martyn (2010). "Mark of the Chemist". The Periodic Table of Videos . University of Nottingham.