Welsbach burner

noun

A burner in which the combustion of a mixture of air and gas or vapour is used to heat to incandescence a mantle composed of thoria and ceria. The mantle is made by soaking a "stocking" in a solution of nitrates of thorium and cerium, drying, and, for use, igniting to burn the thread and convert the nitrates into oxides, which remain as a fragile ash.

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounWelsbach burner (plural Welsbach burners)

plural Welsbach burners

  1. A burner in which the combustion of a mixture of air and gas or vapour is used to heat to incandescence a mantle composed of thoria and ceria. The mantle is made by soaking a "stocking" in a solution of nitrates of thorium and cerium, drying, and, for use, igniting to burn the thread and convert the nitrates into oxides, which remain as a fragile ash.

Origin

Named after its inventor, Auer von Welsbach.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Welsbach burner. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Welsbach%20burner

MLA

“Welsbach burner.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Welsbach%20burner. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Welsbach burner,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Welsbach%20burner.

Source: Welsbach burner on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.