Melting point capillary tubes, along with the Mel-Temp apparatus, are used to determine the melting points of solid compounds. Capillary tubes are very thin (about 1mm diameter) and about 4" long, have one closed end and one open end, and are disposable.

Note: the chromatography experiments use an even smaller-diameter capillary tube for spotting TLC plates. These smaller capillary tubes are similar in appearance to the melting-point capillaries since both are made with clear glass and are the same length, but the TLC capillaries are thinner and have two open ends. Whenever you'll need to use the smaller TLC capillaries, they will be clearly marked, but please take care not to confuse the two types. Doing so would probably lead to an unsuccessful experiment!

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