So you want to measure the salinity of your water?

You have several options:

  • You could taste it, but the results are hard to quantify.
  • You could stick a hydrometer in it, to determine the density of your water. But have you accounted for temperature?
  • Get out your old reliable handheld refractometer. Oops, your salinity gradient background is faded. So much for the refracting salinometer.
  • Well, since you want to know the concentrations of dissolved ions in the water, why not run an electrical current through your solution? The higher the salinity, the higher the conductivity. Enter the modern salinometer, which harnesses the power of the electron to give you the results you need in the blink of an eye. Just be sure to know what your reading your results in- you may need to convert your conductivity ratio to salinity, and is the number you need in ppt, gm/l, or mhos/cm, or the practical salinity scale?

Sal`i*nom"e*ter (?), n. [Saline + -meter.]

A salimeter.


© Webster 1913.

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