Sprengel pump
![The supply of mercury is contained in the reservoir on the left. It flows over into the bulb B, where it falls in drops into the long tube on the right. These drops entrap between them the air in B. The mercury which runs out is collected and poured back into reservoir on the left. In this manner practically all the air can be removed from the bulb B, and hence from any vessel R, which may be connected with B. At M is a manometer which indicates the pressure in the vessel R, which is being exhausted. A pump of this type is capable of producing high vacuum in which the pressure is 1 mPa.[1]](/Images/godic/202502/12/NSRW_Air_Pump21405.png")
The Sprengel pump is a vacuum pump that uses drops of mercury falling through a small-bore capillary tube to trap air from the system to be evacuated. It was invented by Hanover-born chemist Hermann Sprengel in 1865 while he was working in London. The pump created the highest vacuum achievable at that time.