What is a refractometer

<p>The refractometer is a device that makes it possible to measure the amount of affect a substance has on the direction of light&period; As light goes from one substrate into another&comma; the light can bend slightly&period; This can be measured with the refractometer&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2>The refractometer and the refractive index<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<p>Light can be influenced&comma; which can have an effect on the appearance of a surface&period; At the point where light goes from air into another substance&comma; the light can be affected&period; This can either be the direction of the light&comma; the speed of light&comma; both or no effect at all&period; A well known example is the use of a prism&period; This triangle shaped piece of glass shows how light enters the prism and is then split into many different colors&period; When looking at a teaspoon in a glass teacup&comma; the observer can see how the spoon appears to be bend&period; The chance the light goes through is referred to as the refractive index&period; This index is used to measure how light behaves when it goes from air into wax&sol;sealant&sol;coating&comma; and then from wax&sol;sealant&sol;coating into the clear coat layer&period; If a manufacturer know how the light is affected&comma; they can predict the visual effect their product gives to a certain surface&period; I&period;e&period; it allows manufacturer to develop a product that either improves direct gloss&comma; or a warm glow&period; This can also effect the visual effect the protective product can have on metallic paintwork&comma; due to the direction of light&period; The refractometer tells the observer what the refractive index would be&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2>Type of refractometer<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<p>There are a few different types of refractometers&comma; not all are commonly used in the detailing world as some are only designed to work with liquids&period; The largest difference in these devices are the automatic refractometer and the none-refractometer&period; The first one uses an internal and computer controlled system of LED light that is aimed at a sample&comma; depending on the refraction within the light&comma; the device is able to calculate the refractive index&period; The latter is a small handheld device that looks similar to a small telescope&period; By looking through the device&comma; one sees a scale and a line of the liquid&period; The line corresponds with a certain numer on the scale&comma; telling the viewer the refractive index&period; This is mainly used to determine the density of a certain sample&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Another&comma; less commonly used instrument is the gemonology rrefractometer&comma; which is designed to measure the refraction of gemstones&period; This device is likely to be a candidate to test automotive coatings with&period; <&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2>When use a refractometer<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<p>Refractometers are not very common in the world of detailing&comma; mostly because they can be difficult to use&period; The reflective index is something that is very similar and also gives a clear impression of the properties of a certain surface&period; Because of its ease of use&comma; the reflective index is much more used by manufacturers&period; The refractometer however can be used to determine the clarity and density of a paste wax&comma; or a coating&period; This would be most commonly done by applying the product to a substance of which the refractive index is either known or calibrated&period; The difference would be due to the product applied to the material&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;