The Lovibond comparator is an example of a
colorimeter made in
Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
by
The Tintometer Ltd. It was invented in the 19th century by
Joseph Williams Lovibond
Joseph Williams Lovibond (17 November 1833 – 21 April 1918) was a British brewer who developed the world's first practical colorimeter as a means of ensuring the high quality of his beer. He was the originator of the Degrees Lovibond
When dr ...
an
updated versionsare still available.
Description
The device is used to determine the color of liquids. A sample is put in a glass tube. The tube is inserted in the comparator and compared with a series of
coloured glass discs until the nearest possible match is found.
Among other things, the device is used to determine the
concentration
In chemistry, concentration is the abundance of a constituent divided by the total volume of a mixture. Several types of mathematical description can be distinguished: '' mass concentration'', ''molar concentration'', ''number concentration'', an ...
of certain chemicals in solution. In this use, some assumptions are made about what is in the sample. Given those assumptions, the concentration will be indicated by the disc which best matches the color of the solution.
There are a number of standard tests in which a sample to be tested is mixed a
colour reagent In chemistry, a color reaction or colour reaction is a chemical reaction that is used to transform colorless chemical compounds into colored derivatives which can be detected visually or with the aid of a colorimeter.
The concentration of a color ...
. In such tests, the resulting color indicates the concentration of the sample under test.
Results can be approximate compared to other testing techniques, but the comparator is useful for
field work
Field research, field studies, or fieldwork is the collection of raw data outside a laboratory, library, or workplace setting. The approaches and methods used in field research vary across disciplines. For example, biologists who conduct f ...
because it is portable, rugged and easy to use. If a more exact measurement is required other tests can be conducted in a laboratory.
It is used in chemistry lab where the pH of the sample can be measured(approximately) using lovibond comparator.
Optical instruments
Laboratory equipment
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