A muffle furnace is a furnace that heats materials through radiant heat from insulated walls rather than direct flame contact. It consists of a vented heating chamber, temperature controller, and safety features. Muffle furnaces are commonly used in laboratories and industry for applications requiring precise, high temperatures like glass fusing, enamel coating, and metallurgical testing. They heat materials through conduction, convection and radiation from electrical heating elements inside insulating walls, allowing for greater temperature control and isolation of samples from combustion byproducts compared to other furnace types.