For example, the amount of sugar in a glass of water. As light passes through the liquid from the air it will slow down and create a ‘bending’ illusion, the severity of the ‘bend’ will depend on the amount of substance dissolved in the liquid.
Standard refractometers measure the extent of light refraction (as part of a refractive index) of transparent substances in either a liquid or solid-state this is then used in order to identify a liquid sample, analyze the sample's purity, and determine the amount or concentration of dissolved substances within the sample. For mixtures, the index of refraction then allows to determine the concentration using mixing rules such as the Gladstone–Dale relation and Lorentz–Lorenz equation. The index of refraction is calculated from the observed refraction angle using Snell's law. JSTOR ( November 2022) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message)Ī refractometer is a laboratory or field device for the measurement of an index of refraction ( refractometry).Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
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