Pump-areometer explained
The Pump-areometer was an early hydrometer (a variant of the syphon-hydrometer),[1] credited to Floris Nollet.[2]
Principle
The principle is an inverted glass tube with one leg in each of two liquids, the upper end being connected to a pump. Once sufficient air is removed from the pipe, the liquids rise in both legs, in inverse proportion to their density. If the density of one liquid is known, that of the other can be simply calculated. A reasonably wide tube is used to minimise the effects of capillary attraction.
More sophisticated "four leg" variants could eliminate the capillary effect on the calculation.[3]
See also
Notes and References
- Book: The Philosophical Magazine: Or Annals of Chemistry, Mathematics, Astronomy, Natural History and General Science. 1828. Richard Taylor and Company. 258–60.
- Book: Facts, laws and phenomena of Natural Philosophy, or summary of a course of general Physics. Translated from the French ["Positions de Physique"] of Professor Quetelet ... and illustrated with notes by R. Wallaceu. 1835. 96.
- Book: The Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal: Exhibiting a View of the Progressive Discoveries and Improvements in the Sciences and the Arts. 1827. Adam and Charles Black. 366–7.
