Iodine number

Description

A measure of the degree of unsaturation of a fat or oil. The iodine number is the number of grams of iodine absorbed by 100 grams of a fat or oil. A drying oil will have a high iodine number, such as 120, thus indicating a high degree of unsaturation. Materials with low iodine numbers, such as a wax or oil nondrying oil, will not oxidize rapidly.

Synonyms and Related Terms

Jodzahl (Deut.); iodine value

Authority

• Richard S. Lewis, Richard S. Lewis, Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 10th ed., 1993

• R. J. Gettens, G.L. Stout, R. J. Gettens, G.L. Stout, Painting Materials, A Short Encyclopaedia, Dover Publications, New York, 1966

• G.S.Brady, G.S.Brady, Materials Handbook, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1971

• Ralph Mayer, Ralph Mayer, A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques, Harper and Row Publishers, New York, 1969 (also 1945 printing)