cupel
Americannoun
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a small, cuplike, porous container, usually made of bone ash, used in assaying, as for separating gold and silver from lead.
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a receptacle or furnace bottom in which silver is refined.
verb (used with object)
noun
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a refractory pot in which gold or silver is refined
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a small porous bowl made of bone ash in which gold and silver are recovered from a lead button during assaying
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of cupel
1595–1605; < Medieval Latin cūpella, equivalent to Latin cūp ( a ) tub + -ella diminutive suffix
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Then as soon as possible remove the cupel out of the furnace, and take the button out of it while it is still warm, in order that it does not adhere to the ashes.
From De Re Metallica, Translated from the First Latin Edition of 1556 by Georgius Agricola
If you also wish to know what portion of silver is contained in the lead, melt the lead in the cupel until all of it exhales.
From De Re Metallica, Translated from the First Latin Edition of 1556 by Georgius Agricola
If you wish to know what proportion of silver is in this copper button, melt it in a cupel after adding lead.
From De Re Metallica, Translated from the First Latin Edition of 1556 by Georgius Agricola
Finally, in the same way that gold and silver are separated from lead in a cupel, so also are they separated in the cupellation furnace.
From De Re Metallica, Translated from the First Latin Edition of 1556 by Georgius Agricola
The bone ash is then pressed into shape with the piston, and the cupel finished with the help of three or four smart blows from a mallet.
From A Text-book of Assaying: For the Use of Those Connected with Mines. by Cornelius Beringer
By comparing the weights of the original ore, the cupelled button and the final product, statistics were obtained.
From The Westerners by Stewart Edward White
Effect of Varying Temperature.—0.4 gram of silver was cupelled with 20 grams of lead.
From A Text-book of Assaying: For the Use of Those Connected with Mines. by Cornelius Beringer
The lead is then folded over, with the help of two pins; and cupelled.
From A Text-book of Assaying: For the Use of Those Connected with Mines. by Cornelius Beringer
These concentrates—mostly galena—were smelted in low furnaces and the lead was subsequently cupelled.
From De Re Metallica, Translated from the First Latin Edition of 1556 by Georgius Agricola
This should be melted down in a small crucible, and the resulting button of lead cupelled.
From A Text-book of Assaying: For the Use of Those Connected with Mines. by Cornelius Beringer
The determination may also be made by cupelling the button of lead got in the dry lead assay.
From A Text-book of Assaying: For the Use of Those Connected with Mines. by Cornelius Beringer
If these larger cupels are not at hand the larger buttons will have to be reduced in size by a scorification before cupelling.
From A Text-book of Assaying: For the Use of Those Connected with Mines. by Cornelius Beringer
The silver is incorporated with the gold, and at the same time the copper is eliminated, by cupelling with sheet lead.
From A Text-book of Assaying: For the Use of Those Connected with Mines. by Cornelius Beringer
The cupelling temperature in Dr. Rose's experiment was as much above the melting-point of gold as this is above that of the silver-gold alloy.
From A Text-book of Assaying: For the Use of Those Connected with Mines. by Cornelius Beringer
Refer to the table on page 105 to find what weight of lead is required for cupelling 1 gram of alloy.
From A Text-book of Assaying: For the Use of Those Connected with Mines. by Cornelius Beringer
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