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 is nearly
always water at its densest (4°C) for liquids; for gases it is air at room temperature (25°C).
Nonetheless, the temperature and pressure must be specified for both the sample and the
reference. Pressure is nearly always 1 atm (101.325 kPa).

A US Navy Aviation Boatswain's Mate tests the specific gravity of JP-5 fuel

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 1000.[1] 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, sugar solutions (syrups, juices, honeys,
brewers wort, must, etc.) and acids.
Being a ratio of densities, specific gravity is a dimensionless quantity. 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.
True specific gravity can be expressed mathematically as:

where is the density of the sample and is the density of water.

The apparent specific gravity is simply the ratio of the weights of equal volumes of sample and
water in air:

where represents the weight of sample and the weight of water, both measured
in air.
It can be shown that true specific gravity can be computed from different properties:

where is the local acceleration due to gravity, is the volume of the sample

and of water (the same for both), is the density of the sample, is the density

of water and represents a weight obtained in vacuum.

The density of water varies with temperature and pressure as does the density of the
sample. So it is necessary to specify the temperatures and pressures at which the
densities or weights were determined. It is nearly always the case that measurements
are made at 1 nominal atmosphere (1013.25 mbar ± variations from changing weather
patterns). But as specific gravity usually refers to highly incompressible aqueous
solutions or other incompressible substances (such as petroleum products), variations in
density caused by pressure are usually neglected at least where apparent specific
gravity is being measured. For true (in vacuo) specific gravity calculations, air pressure
must be considered (see below). Temperatures are specified by the

notation with representing the temperature at which the sample's density

was determined and the temperature at which the reference (water) density is
specified. For example, SG (20°C/4°C) would be understood to mean that the density of
the sample was determined at 20°C and of the water at 4°C. Taking into account

different sample and reference temperatures, we note that, while (20°C/20°C), it is

also the case that (20°C/4°C). Here, temperature is being specified using the
current ITS-90scale and the densities[2] used here and in the rest of this article are
based on that scale. On the previous IPTS-68 scale, the densities at 20 °C and 4 °C are
0.9982071 and 0.9999720 respectively, resulting in an SG (20°C/4°C) value for water of
0.9982343.
As the principal use of specific gravity measurements in industry is determination of the
concentrations of substances in aqueous solutions and as these are found in tables of
SG vs concentration, it is extremely important that the analyst enter the table with the
correct form of specific gravity. For example, in the brewing industry, the Plato table lists
sucrose concentration by weight against true SG, and was originally (20°C/4°C)[3] i.e.
based on measurements of the density of sucrose solutions made at laboratory
temperature (20 °C) but referenced to the density of water at 4 °C which is very close to

the temperature at which water has its maximum density equal to

0.999972 g·cm−3 in SI units (or 62.43 lb·ft−3 in United States customary units).
The ASBC table[4] in use today in North America, while it is derived from the original
Plato table is for apparent specific gravity measurements at (20°C/20°C) on the IPTS-68
scale where the density of water is 0.9982071 g·cm−3. In the sugar, soft drink, honey,
fruit juice and related industries sucrose concentration by weight is taken from a table
prepared by A. Brix which uses SG (17.5°C/17.5°C). As a final example, the British SG
units are based on reference and sample temperatures of 60F and are thus
(15.56°C/15.56°C).
Given the specific gravity of a substance, its actual density can be calculated by
rearranging the above formula:

Occasionally a reference substance other than water is specified (for example, air),
in which case specific gravity means density relative to that reference.

Measurement: apparent and true specific

gravity[edit]
Pycnometer[edit]
Specific gravity can be measured in a number of value ways. The following
illustration involving the use of the pycnometer is instructive. A pycnometer is simply
a bottle which can be precisely filled to a specific, but not necessarily accurately

known volume, . Placed upon a balance of some sort it will exert a force .

where is the mass of the bottle and the gravitational acceleration at

the location at which the measurements are being made. is the density of

the air at the ambient pressure and is the density of the material of which
the bottle is made (usually glass) so that the second term is the mass of air
displaced by the glass of the bottle whose weight, by Archimedes Principle must
be subtracted. The bottle is filled with air, but as that air displaces an equal
amount of air the weight of that air is canceled by the weight of the air
displaced. Now we fill the bottle with the reference fluid e.g. pure water. The
force exerted on the pan of the balance becomes:

If we subtract the force measured on the empty bottle from this (or tare the
balance before making the water measurement) we obtain.

where the subscript n indicated that this force is net of the force of the
empty bottle. The bottle is now emptied, thoroughly dried and refilled
with the sample. The force, net of the empty bottle, is now:

where is the density of the sample. The ratio of the sample

and water forces is:

This is called the Apparent Specific Gravity, denoted by

subscript A, because it is what we would obtain if we took the
ratio of net weighings in air from an analytical balance or used
a hydrometer (the stem displaces air). Note that the result does
not depend on the calibration of the balance. The only
requirement on it is that it read linearly with force. Nor

does depend on the actual volume of the pycnometer.

Further manipulation and finally substitution of ,the true

specific gravity,(the subscript V is used because this is often
referred to as the specific gravity in vacuo) for gives the
relationship between apparent and true specific gravity.

In the usual case we will have measured weights and want

the true specific gravity. This is found from

Since the density of dry air at 1013.25 mb at 20 °C

is[5] 0.001205 g·cm−3 and that of water is 0.998203
g·cm−3 the difference between true and apparent
specific gravities for a substance with specific gravity
(20°C/20°C) of about 1.100 would be 0.000120. Where
the specific gravity of the sample is close to that of
water (for example dilute ethanol solutions) the
correction is even smaller.

Digital density meters[edit]

Hydrostatic Pressure-based Instruments: This
technology relies upon Pascal's Principle which states
that the pressure difference between two points within
a vertical column of fluid is dependent upon the vertical
distance between the two points, the density of the
fluid and the gravitational force. This technology is
often used for tank gauging applications as a
convenient means of liquid level and density measure.
Vibrating Element Transducers: This type of instrument
requires a vibrating element to be placed in contact
with the fluid of interest. The resonant frequency of the
element is measured and is related to the density of
the fluid by a characterization that is dependent upon
the design of the element. In modern laboratories
precise measurements of specific gravity are made
using oscillating U-tube meters. These are capable of
measurement to 5 to 6 places beyond the decimal
point and are used in the brewing, distilling,
pharmaceutical, petroleum and other industries. The
instruments measure the actual mass of fluid contained
in a fixed volume at temperatures between 0 and 80 °C
but as they are microprocessor based can calculate
apparent or true specific gravity and contain tables
relating these to the strengths of common acids, sugar
solutions, etc. The vibrating fork immersion probe is
another good example of this technology. This
technology also includes many coriolis-type mass flow
meters which are widely used in chemical and
petroleum industry for high accuracy mass flow
measurement and can be configured to also output
density information based on the resonant frequency of
the vibrating flow tubes.
Ultrasonic Transducer: Ultrasonic waves are passed
from a source, through the fluid of interest, and into a
detector which measures the acoustic spectroscopy of
the waves. Fluid properties such as density and
viscosity can be inferred from the spectrum.
Radiation-based Gauge: Radiation is passed from a
source, through the fluid of interest, and into a
scintillation detector, or counter. As the fluid density
increases, the detected radiation "counts" will
decrease. The source is typically the radioactive
isotope cesium-137, with a half-life of about 30 years.
A key advantage for this technology is that the
instrument is not required to be in contact with the fluid
– typically the source and detector are mounted on the
outside of tanks or piping. .[6]
Buoyant Force Transducer: the buoyancy force
produced by a float in a homogeneous liquid is equal
to the weight of the liquid that is displaced by the float.
Since buoyancy force is linear with respect to the
density of the liquid within which the float is
submerged, the measure of the buoyancy force yields
a measure of the density of the liquid. One
commercially available unit claims the instrument is
capable of measuring specific gravity with an accuracy
of +/- 0.005 SG units. The submersible probe head
contains a mathematically characterized spring-float
system. When the head is immersed vertically in the
liquid, the float moves vertically and the position of the
float controls the position of a permanent magnet
whose displacement is sensed by a concentric array of
Hall-effect linear displacement sensors. The output
signals of the sensors are mixed in a dedicated
electronics module that provides an output voltage
whose magnitude is a direct linear measure of the
quantity to be measured.[7]
In-Line Continuous Measurement: Slurry is weighed as
it travels through the metered section of pipe using a
patented, high resolution load cell. This section of pipe
is of optimal length such that a truly representative
mass of the slurry may be determined. This
representative mass is then interrogated by the load
cell 110 times per second to ensure accurate and
repeatable measurement of the slurry.
What Is Specific Gravity?
When we go out in the summer to enjoy the pools and the rivers, we always have to make sure that
all of our equipment and safety measures are working and in place. When we go to the river and get
on our boats, we make sure the boat has no leaks and we have our safety vests on. For young
children who are still learning how to swim, we make sure they have their floaters on or we swim
with them in a swim ring to make sure they do not sink. Why is it that boats and swim rings both
float? There are many factors that determine if an object will sink or float in water, and one of these
factors is what we call the specific gravity.
The specific gravity is the ratio between the density of an object, and a reference substance. The
specific gravity can tell us, based on its value, if the object will sink or float in our reference
substance. Usually our reference substance is water which always has a density of 1 gram per
milliliter or 1 gram per cubic centimeter.

What is Density?
So, what is density, anyway? An object's density is a measure of how compact or heavy it is, in a
given volume. We measure density in mass per unit volume which is written using measures like
grams per milliliter (g/mL), grams per cubic centimeter (g/cm^3), or kilograms per liter (kg/L).
Here are two objects with different densities. On the left is an object highly packed with particles.
That means it has a high density. On the right is an object with a low density. You can see that the
particles are not packed tightly but that there are fewer particles occupying the same volume. To find
the density of an object, we divide its mass by its volume.
For example, take an object with a volume of four liters and a mass of one kilogram. We plug these
numbers into the density formula and discover that its density is 0.25 kg/L.

The Formula for Specific Gravity

The formula for specific gravity, given that the reference substance is water, is the density of the
object divided by the density of the water. Here, we use the Greek symbol Rho to indicate density.

The specific gravity has no unit because the units of the numerator and the denominator are the
same, so they just cancel each other out. Let's look at an example. Here, the density of the object is
19 g/mL and the density of water is 1 g/mL. We cancel the unit g/mL because this unit is present in
both the numerator and the denominator:
What is Specific Gravity?
The Specific Gravity of liquids and solids is defined as a
dimensionless unit which is the ratio of density of a material to the
density of water at a given temperature, where density is defined as
the material’s mass per unit volume and is measured in kg/m3. The
temperature and pressure of both the material and water need to be
the same as these factors influence the density and hence the
specific gravity. Specific gravity is unique to every material and has
a very wide range of application. In more general terms specific
gravity is the ratio of the density of a material to that of any standard
substance, although usually this is water at 4 degrees Celsius or
39.2 degrees Fahrenheit. By definition, water has a density of 1 kg
per litre at this temperature.

The specific gravities of gases usually are compared to dry air

which generally has a density of 1.29 g per litre. The specific gravity
 of all other materials is compared to water as a fraction heavier
lighter or heavier density.

Calculating Specific Gravity

The following formula is used to calculate the specific gravity of a
material.

SG = ρ / ρW

Where SG = specific gravity, ρ = density of the material (kg/m3), ρW

= density of water ( kg/m3). The reference density of water at 4oC
(39oF) is used as the reference as these are the conditions of
maximum density.

Measuring Specific Gravity

There is a wide range of instruments designed to measure the
specific gravity of a material. The hydrometer can be used to
measure the specific gravity of any liquid. The device is designed to
float freely at the liquid surface with a protruding stem giving a
reading corresponding to the specific gravity of the liquid. Other
instruments to measure specific gravity are the Pycnometer, and
digital density meters based on oscillating U-tubes.

Applications of Specific Gravity

Specific Gravity has a wide range of applications including:

1. Pharmaceuticals: The specific gravity is used to find out the purity of a

drug since each of the constituents has a distinct specific gravity.
2. Determining the additives used in a base material: Specific gravity is
used to find out the amount of additives used in a base material which
might affect the performance and stability of the base material.
3. Urine Specific Gravity: The Urine Specific gravity (USG) is measured
and used mostly in veterinary sciences to understand whether water is
excreted or conserved in an appropriate fashion.
4. Calculating volume of a fluid: The fluid’s volume can be calculated using
the specific gravity of the fluid and the weight. Conversely the weight
can be calculated if the volume is known.
5. Other applications of specific gravity include fluid mechanics, buoyancy
and the brewing industry.