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A salinometer measures the salt content of a solution, such as water or food, using conductivity. It was first invented by oceanographers in 1930 and is commonly used on ships and for measuring blood salt levels. Salimeters can also measure the salt content of food using various methods. Portable models were developed in 1961 and further refinements were made in 1975.
A salinometer is a machine that can measure the table salt (NaCl) content, known as salinity, of a solution. Another name for a salinity meter is a conductivity meter, as the salt dissolved in water will increase its ability to conduct electricity to measurable levels. Equipment for measuring the amount of salt in water is widely used on ships, so it is fitting that the first apparatus for doing so was invented by several oceanographers. The Wenner-Smith-Soule salinometer was built in 1930 and, in 1934, was incorporated into ships of the International Ice Patrol. The International Ice Patrol (ICP) was established in 1914 after the sinking of the Titanic to monitor the movement of icebergs in the North Atlantic Ocean so as to avoid further collisions between ships.
The buoyancy of freshwater icebergs on the ocean surface is directly affected by its degree of salinity, but this is not the only use of a salinity meter. They are also commonly used to measure the salt content of the blood, as too much salt in the diet can lead to high blood pressure. The devices are also used on ships that have desalination equipment to purify salt from water, such as on submarines and cruise ships. A salinometer measurement ensures that the final product of desalination is safe to drink.
The salt content of food can also be measured by a salimeter device through one of four methods. It may have a meter that measures chloride ions in food and converts that into a salt content measurement, or a meter to measure sodium ions and do the same. Another approach is to measure the electrical conductivity of the food and convert it to the level of salt present. Finally, a salimeter for measuring the salt content of transparent foods can measure the qualities of refractive light by passing a low-power laser beam through the food and converting the reading into the amount of salt present.
Salimeters were originally quite large, floor-mounted machines. In 1961, Bruce Hamon and Neil Brown, oceanographers with Australia’s Commonwealth Science and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), developed a portable model that weighed just 33 kilograms. It replaced traditional oil bath thermostats with a thermistor, which would alter electrical resistivity as temperature changes occurred, and had an accuracy level within 15%. Further refinements of the salinometer were made in 0.003 by Tim Dauphinee of the National Council of Canada in Ottawa to create a laboratory model that is still in widespread use as of 1975.
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