CLASSROOM CLEANUP
Where do all the dirty beakers go when the day’s experiments have come to an end? They find themselves being loaded into a giant metal box called an autoclave. Using highly pressurised steam, these self-sealing machines can eliminate pathogens and microorganisms to sterilise equipment. Once inside, equipment is exposed to steam at temperatures of up to around 135 degrees Celsius. The steam is pumped from an adjoining boiler and into the steam jacket, which encases a central chamber to house the equipment. For up to an hour, steam continually circulates from the boiler around the chamber to kill any pathogens. Most bacteria are destroyed when exposed to temperatures of 74 degrees Celsius or above.