Specific gravity

Specific gravity is the ratio of the density of a substance to the density of a reference substance; equivalently, it is the ratio of the mass of a substance to the mass of a reference substance for the same given volume. Apparent specific gravity is the ratio of the weight of a volume of the substance to the weight of an equal volume of the reference substance. The reference substance for liquids is nearly always water at its densest (at 4 °C or 39.2 °F); for gases it is air at room temperature (20 °C or 68 °F). Nonetheless, the temperature and pressure must be specified for both the sample and the reference. Pressure is nearly always 1 atm (101.325 kPa). Specific gravity is the ratio of the density of a substance to the density of a reference substance; equivalently, it is the ratio of the mass of a substance to the mass of a reference substance for the same given volume. Apparent specific gravity is the ratio of the weight of a volume of the substance to the weight of an equal volume of the reference substance. The reference substance for liquids is nearly always water at its densest (at 4 °C or 39.2 °F); for gases it is air at room temperature (20 °C or 68 °F). Nonetheless, the temperature and pressure must be specified for both the sample and the reference. Pressure is nearly always 1 atm (101.325 kPa). Temperatures for both sample and reference vary from industry to industry. In British beer brewing, the practice for specific gravity as specified above is to multiply it by 1,000. Specific gravity is commonly used in industry as a simple means of obtaining information about the concentration of solutions of various materials such as brines, hydrocarbons, antifreeze coolants, sugar solutions (syrups, juices, honeys, brewers wort, must, etc.) and acids. Being a ratio of densities, specific gravity is a dimensionless quantity independent of the systems of units used to make measurements. Specific gravity varies with temperature and pressure; reference and sample must be compared at the same temperature and pressure or be corrected to a standard reference temperature and pressure. Substances with a specific gravity of 1 are neutrally buoyant in water. Those with SG greater than 1 are denser than water and will, disregarding surface tension effects, sink in it. Those with an SG less than 1 are less dense than water and will float on it. In scientific work, the relationship of mass to volume is usually expressed directly in terms of the density (mass per unit volume) of the substance under study. It is in industry where specific gravity finds wide application, often for historical reasons.