Glass flask used by Louis Pasteur, France, 1860-1864

Glass flask containing yeast water Glass flask containing yeast water

Creative Commons LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence

Buy this image as a print 

Buy

License this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library

License

Creative Commons LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence

Buy this image as a print 

Buy

License this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library

License

Glass flask containing yeast water
Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Glass flask containing yeast water
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Glass flask containing yeast water, prepared by Pasteur during his experiments on spontaneous generation, French

Louis Pasteur (1822-1895), the French chemist and microbiologist, used a glass flask containing yeast water during his experiments on spontaneous generation. By 1864, Pasteur had disproved this theory by experimenting with fermentation. He placed yeast water in a swan-necked flask (like this one) that only allowed air to enter. The water remained clear. Only when the flask was open to dust and micro-organisms did fermentation occur.

The flask has a handwritten label, possibly written by Pasteur, reading “3 Août 1864, fevrier [??], eau de levure”. If 'fevrier' is correct - which is how the word was interpreted when first catalogued - this would translate from French as “3 August 1864, February, yeast water”. The flask was acquired by Henry Wellcome, whose records suggest it was believed this was actually used by Pasteur, but there is no evidence supporting this claim.

Details

Category:
Microbiology
Collection:
Sir Henry Wellcome's Museum Collection
Object Number:
A55130
Materials:
flask, glass and stand, wood
Measurements:
overall: 285 mm 95 mm, .16kg
type:
flask
credit:
Lespicau