Chemistry Lab Apparatus in Cycles Render Engine.

Hello,

3D models of the following had been made in Blender 2.49 version for Project OSCAR 3D model Repository and were rendered in Blender Internal Render engine.
I have re-done the material and lighting of these models in Blender 2.63 version and rendered with Cycles render engine.

A brief description of them has been given below:

Glass Rod: It is used to stir chemicals within other glass apparatus.

Pipette or chemical dropper: It is a laboratory tool used to transport a measured volume of liquid.

Round-bottom flasks: They are types of flasks having spherical bottoms used as laboratory glassware, mostly for chemical or biochemical work. They are typically made of glass for chemical inertness; and in modern days, they are usually made of heat-resistant borosilicate glass. There is at least one tubular section known as the neck with an opening at the tip. Two or three-necked flasks are common as well. Round bottom flasks come in many sizes, from 5 mL to 20 L, with the sizes usually inscribed on the glass. In pilot plants even larger flasks are encountered.

The ends of the necks are usually conical (female) ground glass joints. These are standardized, and can accept any similarly-sized tapered (male) fittings. Standard Taper 24/40 is common for 250 mL or larger flasks, while smaller sizes such as 14 or 19 are used for smaller flasks.

Conical flask: An Erlenmeyer flask, also known as a conical flask, is a widely used type of laboratory flask which features a flat bottom, a conical body, and a cylindrical neck.The Erlenmeyer is usually marked on the side (graduated) to indicate the approximate volume of contents, and has a spot of ground glass or enamel where it can be labeled with a pencil. It differs from the beaker in its tapered body and narrow neck.

The opening usually has a slight rounded lip so that the Erlenmeyer can be easily stoppered using a piece of cotton wool, rubber bung or similar. Alternatively, the neck may be fitted with a female ground glass joint to accept a glass stopper. The conical shape allows the contents to be swirled or stirred during an experiment, either by hand or by a shaker; the narrow neck keeps the contents from spilling out. The small neck reduces evaporative losses compared to a beaker, while the flat bottom of the conical flask makes it unlikely to tip over and spill.
  
Renders of these models in Blender 2.49 in Internal Blender Render:

Conical Flask, Pipette, Glass Rod and Round Bottom Flask

Final Rendered Images in Cycles Render Engine:

Glass Rod, Glass rod in Beaker, Round Bottom flask, Pipette and Conical Flask
Final Render in Cycle Render Engine

The basic setup for the above models, those which are rendered in Cycles, consists of two planes, a Camera and a lamp.One plane acts as the base and the second is placed behind the model, which acts as Emitter (Emission as material), but Orb as texture.

Basic setup in Blender

Below are the settings for the Glass material in Cycles. In Properties Panel, under the Materials tab, just set the Diffuse color's Red value to 0.96, to bring an aqua tint to the glass.

Glass Material Setup