Effect of Dissolved Air on the Density and Refractive Index of Water

Published

September 30, 2005

Author(s)

Allan H. Harvey, Simon G. Kaplan, John H. Burnett

Abstract

We consider the effect of dissolved air on the density and the refractive index of liquid water from 0 ¿aC to 50 ¿aC. The density effect is calculated from the best available values of Henry's constants and partial molar volumes for the components of air; the results are in agreement with some previous experimental studies but not others. The refractive-index effect is calculated as a function of wavelength from the same information, plus the refractivities of the atmospheric gases. We also report experimental measurements of the refractive-index effect at both visible and ultraviolet wavelengths; the measured and calculated values are in reasonable agreement. The magnitude of the refractive-index change, while small, is several times larger than a previous estimate in the literature.

Citation

International Journal of Thermophysics

Volume

26

Issue

5

Pub Type

Journals

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Keywords

air, calibration, density, refractive index, water

Citation

Harvey, A. , Kaplan, S. and Burnett, J. (2005), Effect of Dissolved Air on the Density and Refractive Index of Water, International Journal of Thermophysics, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=50167 (Accessed October 10, 2025)