The difference between a retort and a muffle furnace is largely historical and semantic. In chemistry lab applications, a retort refers to the airtight vessel where the material is processed, while a muffle furnace is a term made by furnace manufacturers to refer to the insulation and separation of the heating elements from the contents of the retort. Both muffle and retort furnaces describe the same type of furnace.
A muffle furnace's primary attribute is that it has separate combustion and heating chambers. The retort is a gas-sealed chamber where the material to be heated is placed. In the past, this separation was important because the by-products of combustion would have otherwise contaminated the heating process. However, with the invention of high-temperature electric heating elements, most furnace manufacturers quickly converted their muffle furnaces to electric. Electric furnaces heat through conduction, convection, or blackbody radiation processes, none of which create combustion by-products. This allows for much greater control of temperature uniformity and assures isolation of the heated material from combustion contaminants.
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