from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Blowpipe \Blow"pipe`\, n.
1. A tube for directing a jet of air into a fire or into the
flame of a lamp or candle, so as to concentrate the heat
on some object.
[1913 Webster]
Note: It is called a mouth blowpipe when used with the mouth;
but for both chemical and industrial purposes, it is
often worked by a bellows or other contrivance. The
common {mouth blowpipe} is a tapering tube with a very
small orifice at the end to be inserted in the flame.
The {oxyhydrogen blowpipe}, invented by Dr. Hare in
1801, is an instrument in which oxygen and hydrogen,
taken from separate reservoirs, in the proportions of
two volumes of hydrogen to one of oxygen, are burned in
a jet, under pressure. It gives a heat that will
consume the diamond, fuse platinum, and dissipate in
vapor, or in gaseous forms, most known substances.
[1913 Webster]
2. A blowgun; a blowtube.
[1913 Webster]
{Blowpipe analysis} (Chem.), analysis by means of the
blowpipe.
{Blowpipe reaction} (Chem.), the characteristic behavior of a
substance subjected to a test by means of the blowpipe.
[1913 Webster]