Hydrometer

Description

1) An instrument used to measure the Specific gravity of liquids or liquid/solid mixtures. A hydrometer usually has a hollow, sealed graduated tube that is placed in the solution of interest. The tube sinks to a position that corresponds to the density of the liquid. Hydrometers are used to compared the density of glazes and to ensure consistency from batch to batch.

2) An instrument used to measure the velocity of moving water.

Synonyms and Related Terms

Areometer (Deut.); slip-gauge

Resources and Citations

• Thomas Gregory, The Condensed Chemical Dictionary, Reinhold Publishing, New York, 3rd ed., 1942

• Van Nostrand's Scientific Encyclopedia, Douglas M. Considine (ed.), Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 1976

• The American Heritage Dictionary or Encarta, via Microsoft Bookshelf 98, Microsoft Corp., 1998

• G.S.Brady, Materials Handbook, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1971 Comment: p. 946

• Robert Fournier, Illustrated Dictionary of Practical Pottery, Chilton Book Company, Radnor, PA, 1992