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A traditional handheld refractometer is an analog instrument for measuring a liquid's refractive index. It works on the critical angle principle by which lenses and prisms project a shadow line onto a small glass reticle inside the instrument, which is then viewed by the user through a magnifying eyepiece.
Digital handheld refractometers are generally more precise than traditional handheld refractometers, but less precise than most benchtop refractometers. They also may require a slightly larger amount of sample to read from since the sample is not spread thinly against the prism.
Gemstone refractometers are available both as classic optical instruments and as electronic measurement devices with a digital display. [3] In marine aquarium keeping, a refractometer is used to measure the salinity and specific gravity of the water. In the automobile industry, a refractometer is used to measure the coolant concentration.
This device became so popular that its name became genericized, though often spelled phoropter. The Phoroptor was smaller (lenses reduced again, to 9/16 inch diameter), with a similar power range, and the front clips for hand-held trial lenses were removed and replaced with batteries of cylinder lenses ranging from 0.25 D to 4.75 D.
Created Date: 8/30/2012 4:52:52 PM
Refractometers are frequently used by grape growers and kiwifruit growers for Brix testing of sucrose levels in their fruit. Refractometry is also used in the gelatin industry. To convert the RI of a gelatin sol (reported in Brix) to a gelatin concentration, one need only multiply by eight-tenths (0.8). A sol with a 10.0 RI would therefore be 8 ...
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In the Abbe refractometer the liquid sample is sandwiched into a thin layer between an illuminating prism and a refracting prism. The refracting prism is made of a glass with a high refractive index (e.g., 1.75) and the refractometer is designed to be used with samples having a refractive index smaller than that of the refracting prism.