Talk:Refractometer

Opacity
The following unsigned note was moved from the article page:

Please consider adding a brief mention of how an OPACITY meter measures the ability of light to pass through a liquid such as industrial process control to treat Discharge Water before dumping into the environment. It might also be of interest to see a comparision of the efficiency vs cost between inline process refractometers and Opacity metering.


 * This is probably related to the heading I created below, "Scales Typically Used and their Conversions". I added some headings to this discussion page, hopefully breaking the ideas expressed into logical elements.64.149.107.151 (talk) 20:20, 18 September 2009 (UTC)

This may be better just added to the "Related Topics" link.

Uses in Various Industries
What is the relationship between a refractometer and bee-keeping? what is the application to be linked in the same category? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 186.80.197.38 (talk) 02:04, 31 May 2009 (UTC)

Scales Typically Used and their conversions
It is clear there are a number of differing scales used in typical refractometers, often said to be for different purposes. I've seen the following used in the specifications for various refractometers:

0-18% Brix (divisions in bBrix) (what is bBrix?),

0-32 Brix (divisions in Brix),

0-44 Brix,

58-90% Brix,

0-10% Salinity (divisions in PPT), (is PPT "parts per 'thousand'" or "parts per 'trillion'", or something else?)

0-100 PPG (divisions in PPT) (what is PPG and PPT?) (PPG=Pounds per Gallon?)

1.000-1.070 SG (divisions in SG) (SG=specific gravity?)

0-190˚Oe (divisions in ˚Oe) (what is "Oe"?)

0-40˚KMW (divisions in ˚KMW) (what is "KMW"?),

38-43 Be’(divisions in Be) (what is "Be"?),

12-27% Water (divisions in % Water?).

There may very well be other scales typically used, one I didn't include was for measuring battery electrolytes. Not being familiar with the instruments or working in a field that typically uses them, I hesitate to make assertions regarding what the various scales mean, but I came here to this Wikipedia page to find such information, and didn't find it. The info may exist on other Wikipedia pages.

An explanation of the scales, perhaps with links to other Wikipedia pages, ideally a graphic that shows the various scales relative to each other in terms physically relative to the light spectrum, might be helpful additions.

It appears there generally are separate refractometers that measure sugars, proteins, and salts in solution. Perhaps there are other classifications as well. 64.149.107.151 (talk) 20:07, 18 September 2009 (UTC)


 * After studying the issue "slightly" or superficially, I added some links to other wikipedia pages where "refractometer" is mentioned in the text as a useful tool. I also added some wikipedia links to the scales typically used.  Hopefully these changes will be an improvement and make the page a jumping point to where more information about the instrument can be learned. 71.154.222.249 (talk) 07:09, 21 September 2009 (UTC)

Pulfrich refractometer??????????
Isn't there a refractometer having this name????? Waiting for answer — Preceding unsigned comment added by 41.68.62.5 (talk) 23:02, 7 September 2011 (UTC)
 * Yes, Many hits if you google it, including images. &bull; &bull; &bull; Peter (Southwood) (talk): 15:53, 14 February 2016 (UTC)

Explanation of function needed
A description of how the refractive index is measured and converted to specific gravity would be useful. &bull; &bull; &bull; Peter (Southwood) (talk): 15:51, 14 February 2016 (UTC)


 * Dissolving one compound in a liquid typically affects density as well as the index of refraction. The influence is typically linear to a rather good approximation, at least up to rather high concentrations. Thus for a specific compound-liquid pair there is a close relation between density and index of refraction. It may be possible to do some generalisations but typically the relation will only be valid for a specific pair.150.227.15.253 (talk) 15:06, 10 February 2023 (UTC)

Major deficit of this Wikipedia article
The lack of a reasonably detailed explanation on how the measurement is done (optical principles, formulas, refractometer design considerations) in various refractometers is a major deficit of the article.150.227.15.253 (talk) 15:10, 10 February 2023 (UTC)