pycnometer
noun/pɪkˈnɒmɪtə(ɹ)/
Etymology From Ancient Greek πυκνός (puknós, “dense”) and μέτρον (métron, “measure”). By surface analysis, pycno- + -meter.
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Metrology, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Physics A vessel of precisely known volume used by weighing to determine the specific gravity or relative density of a liquid.
- As Galileo showed in his tract La Bilancetta, or “The Little Balance,” a scientist of Archimedes’ stature could have achieved a far more precise result using his own law of buoyancy and an accurate scale, something far more common in the ancient world than a very precise pycnometer, which is used to measure displacement.2006 December 8, David Biello, “Fact or Fiction?: Archimedes Coined the Term ‘Eureka!’ in the Bath”, in Scientific American:
- Related terms
- pycnometric, pycnometry