Measurement of impurity and temperature variations in water by interferometry technique

Refractive index is an important optical parameter of liquids, which is temperature, concentration and wavelength-dependent. Therefore, precise measurement of refractive index variation can be used for precise determination of the above parameters. In this paper a laser-based interferometry technique was introduced for accurate measuring of the refractive index variation due to temperature, and concentration changes. Distilled water was used as a test liquid sample, however the technique can be applied for any similar liquids. The concentration variations of distilled water due to three different impurities i.e. ethanol, salt water and tap water were examined. The technique gives measurement for concentration and temperature variations typically at the order ∼10−4(g/l)−1 and 10−5 K−1 respectively. The results show the variations of refractive index with respect to temperature or concentration can be measured typically with an accuracy of ∼6%, and 10% respectively. The method is useful for fast and precise monitoring of temperature and concentration variations in transparent liquids.