It is also considered an endangered craft. Some scientific instruments, if broken, cannot realistically be replaced in any reasonable time frame (or sometimes even at all).
People who take up glassblowing as a hobby are closer to being crucial to the world economy than most.
Just something to chew on.
It isn’t like mind blowing or anything. But it sure is something.
You need super specialised tools and years of practise. The intent is not to malign or denigrate a very intricate craft
Yeah I don’t think that was your intent. I fully support scientific glassblowing - it is a dying art. They say that each chemistry department used to have their own in-house glassblower, nowadays you’ll be lucky if there’s one in your whole state
They often still do in France. Part of why they exist in some areas and don’t in others is just the price of new glassware vs a staff glass blower. Borosilicate glass is cheap in the US, but relatively expensive in France.