Carl,

First, what it clearly is NOT. It is NOT part of a bubble lamp, NOR a 
leveling vial.

It IS an ampule ... a glass container used for transport/storage of active 
medicinal, pharmaceutical or chemical agents.

In this case  the red liquid COULD be a variety of things (essential perfume 
or medicinal oils, degraded morphine) ... BUT it looks most like a sample of 
the element bromine ... which is a liquid at room temperature AND is exactly 
this color. Be careful with that ampule, bromine is toxic and very noxious 
(it has an odor, and similar effects on humans, to chlorine).

Elemental bromine was commonly available in such ampules (at least in the 
early part of the 20th century) for use by photographers (they used it to 
make fresh photographic chemicals by reacting bromine and silver), for use 
in analytical chemistry, AND (perhaps most commonly) for medical laboratory 
tests.

The common diagnosis of uremia, for instance, called for reacting a measured 
sample of cerebrospinal fluid with a standard (2.2cc) ampule of bromine. 
Your ampule appears to hold about 2.2cc of a fluid that is precisely the 
color of bromine.


Bob Skiles
~~~~~~~~~~~
If at first an idea is not absurd, there is no hope for it. ~ Albert 
Einstein

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Carl Steen" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, February 26, 2008 12:54 PM
Subject: Artifact ID


>I found this item in a mid 20th century context. Any ideas? Image at:
>
> http://38ch69.com/What%20page.html
>
> Thanks
> Carl Steen
>
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