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originalgravityHowDoesaHydrometerWork?HomebrewingStackExchange

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HowDoesaHydrometerWork?
Iknowhowtousemyhydrometer,andIknowwhatnumberstolookatandwritedownonmybrewingsheets,butI'mnotsurewhatthose
numbersactuallyrepresent,orevenwhatunitsIshouldusetolabelthosereadings.
What'sthesciencebehindthehydrometer?Howaretheycalibrated?WhatelseshouldIknowaboutthetheoryofusingonetomakebetter
beer?
hydrometer

originalgravity science

askedNov13'10at5:43
Ben
594

16

3Answers

GoodAnswerbyFishtoaster.Thescienceisancient,discoveredbyArchimedes.
1:Anyobject,whollyorpartiallyimmersedinafluid,isbuoyedupbyaforceequaltotheweight
ofthefluiddisplacedbytheobject.
Inotherwords,ifyouputaball,withvolume1litrecompletelyunderwater,thereisanupwards
forceontheball(buoyancyorflotation)equaltotheweightof1litreofwater.(i.e.1kilogramforce
or9.81Newtons)
2:(Corollary)Anyfloatingobjectdisplacesitsownweightoffluid.
Ifweplaceafloatingobjectofmass1kilo,itwilldisplaceexactly1kiloofwater,or1litreof
water.Ifthevolumeofourobjectisgreaterthan1litre(i.e.theobjectislessdensethanwater),it
willfloat.
So,withaHydrometer,itisweightedsuchthattheweightofthesubmergedvolumeatthe1.000
readingisexactlyequaltotheweightofthehydrometer.Ifwedissolvesolidsintothewater
(sugar)thatvolumeofwaterisheavier,andlessofitneedstobedisplacedinorderforthe
hydrometer'sweighttobematched,andtheHydrometerfloatshigher.
editedJan21'14at13:53

answeredNov15'10at14:48
ChrisCudmore
601

Thegeneralprincipleisbasedondensity.Thatis,lessdensethingswillfloatontopofdenser
things.
Byanalogy,imagineahumanfloatinginapoolofwater.Nowimagineahumanfloatinginapool
ofsaltwaterthehumanwillfloathigherinthesaltwater,sincethedensityofthesaltwateris
higher.
Ahydrometerworkssimilarlyit'sjustamarkedglasstubethat'sweightedsuchthatinwater,it'll
sitat1.00.Ifyouputitinsomethingdenserthanwater(likewort,whichiswaterwithstuffinit),it'll
sitalittlehigheroutoftheliquid,soit'satsomethinglike1.050.Thatnumberisthedensity*ofthe
liquid.
Onethingtonoteisthathydrometersarecalibratedtoaspecifictemperature:15C/59F.Ifyour
liquidisnotthattemperature,youwanttorunyourmeasurementthroughaconversionchartto
accountforthechangeindensityofliquidsbasedontemperature.
*Orrather,it'smeasuringthespecificgravityofthesubstance,whichisadimensionlessunit
equaltotheratioofthedensityofthesampledividedbytheratioofareferenceliquid,bothata
giventemperatureandpressure.Thereferenceliquidhereispurewater,andthesampleiswater
withstuffinit(ie,wort).
editedSep12'11at1:40
drj
1,589

answeredNov13'10at16:25
Fishtoaster

25

1,912

15

32

Heavyshipscanfloatbecauseoftheprinciplesofbuoyancy.Hydrometersmeasurethespecific
gravityofliquids.Specificgravityisameasurementofthedensityofasubstancecomparedto

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originalgravityHowDoesaHydrometerWork?HomebrewingStackExchange

thatofwater.Densitydescribeshowdenselythemoleculesofasubstancearepacked.Objects
floatmoreeasilyinliquidsthataremoredensebecausethemorecloselypackedmolecules
supportmoreweight.Buoyancyisdeterminedbytheamountoftheforcepushinganobject
upwardinrelationshiptothedownwardforceofairpressure.Liquidswithhigherdensityenhance
thebuoyancyofanobject.Readahydrometerwherethesurfaceoftheliquidmeetsthestemof
thehydrometer.
editedOct26'12at13:35
baka
5,652

answeredOct25'12at9:35
HephzibahRaj

11

37

11

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