Bottles are containers for liquid substances such as milk, soda and motor oil; and also dry goods like medications and nutritional supplements. They are often made of glass, but plastic is also commonly used. These bottles are produced from a variety of raw materials, which must go through a manufacturing process to end up in our refrigerators and medicine cabinets.
During this process the bottles are made into shapes that suit their intended purpose, with a wide variety of finishes and closures being used. Depending on the substance contained, the type of container can have an impact on how the product is stored, and may even determine whether or not it is safe to store or consume at all (see Storage and Handling). Bottles made of alcoholic beverages, for instance, are highly effective at protecting their contents from light, and can be returned after use, thus cutting down on waste and helping to preserve these fragile products.
The term bottle is also widely used as a metaphor for something that is difficult to manage, especially in the arts. This stems from 19th Century theater slang, where it was used to describe any dismal flop on stage. The phrase was adopted in the same period by the more general sense of any major misstep, on or off the stage.
In chemistry, a bottle is a nonequilibrium state of matter that appears solid on the human time scale, but over long periods relaxes toward either the liquid or crystal states. Because of this non-equilibrium property, heat is not needed for the transformation to occur.
A bottle has a wide variety of finish types, some of which have specific names. These include the borosilicate (Pyrex), opalescent, and crystal (Swift) finishes; as well as more modern types such as polycarbonate, PET and LDPE (see Bottle Finishes pop-up page for details).
The most common kind of bottle for storing liquids is the clear glass bottle. This is available in a range of sizes, and is ideal for most liquids. It is durable, lightweight and offers good protection from light, although it does not protect against chemicals or other damaging substances. A clear glass bottle can be molded to suit the contents, and a wide variety of closures are available.
Other kinds of bottles, such as those made of metals such as aluminum or steel and plastics such as High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE), Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC or vinyl) are used for many other products. Plastics are very versatile in that they can be shaped into the desired shape, and they can be recycled over and over again without losing strength or quality. However, plastics are not a good choice for certain substances such as volatile chemicals or solvents.
