In typical laboratory operation, such as distillation, the condenser is clamped to a retort stand in vertical or oblique orientation.In 1794, the German pharmacist Johann Friedrich August Göttling (1753–1809), who was a former student of Weigel, improved the design by sealing both ends of the water jacket.[9] In 1778, in what seems to be an independent invention, Finnish pharmacist Jakob Gadolin (1719–1802) proposed condensers for use in distilleries and in laboratories, consisted of a metal jacket which surrounded the discharge tube from a distillation vessel and through which a countercurrent of cold water flowed.[10][11] Also independently of Weigel, Pierre-Isaac Poissonnier (1720–1798), a physician to the king Louis XV of France, published in 1779 a design of a still for producing freshwater from seawater aboard a ship.The ends of the inner tube, that carries the vapor and condensed liquid, are open; they are often fitted with ground glass joints for secure and airtight connection to other equipment.
Two modern Liebig condensers, with ground glass joints.