Separating Mixtures-Distillation

3 Thoughts:
1) Porcelain chips are used in boiling of the mixture in the distillation set-up so that heat will be evenly shared in the mixture and heating will be very efficient. The heat from the Bunsen burner or electric heater cause the porcelain chips to vibrate and this in turn will also cause the water to vibrate. Hence, heat will be evenly spread in the round-bottom flask.
2) Distillation set-up: The tap-water in is usually at the bottom of the condenser while the tap-water out is at the top so that it will be more efficient in condensing. The tap-water in is at the bottom end of the condenser. Thus, the hot water vapour can take time to cool down and condense into water droplets.
3) Distillation is usually used to separate different temperatures of liquid. Hence, a thermometer is used. A thermometer can be used to tell which element or compound is separated from the mixture. Example, when the thermometer reaches 100 degree Celsius, we can tell that pure water is separated from the mixture.

2 Questions:
1) If the mixture is separated by distillation method, then at the end of the heating process, will the porcelain chips still remain in the round-bottom flask?
2) When using distillation method, how do we know that a mixture has been completely separated?

1 Useful application:
By knowing more on distillation method, we are able to carry out experiments easily and know what the concept behind the method is. We are also able to answer questions on distillation with better understanding.