What does specific gravity mean?
Definitions for specific gravity
spe·cif·ic grav·i·ty
This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word specific gravity.
Princeton's WordNet
specific gravitynoun
the density of a substance relative to the density of water
Wiktionary
specific gravitynoun
The ratio of the mass of a substance to that of an equal volume of water at 4°C (or to some other reference substance)
Wikipedia
specific gravity
Relative density, or specific gravity, is the ratio of the density (mass of a unit volume) of a substance to the density of a given reference material. Specific gravity for liquids is nearly always measured with respect to water at its densest (at 4 °C or 39.2 °F); for gases, the reference is air at room temperature (20 °C or 68 °F). The term "relative density" (often abbreviated r.d. or RD) is often preferred in scientific usage, whereas the term "specific gravity" is deprecated. If a substance's relative density is less than 1 then it is less dense than the reference; if greater than 1 then it is denser than the reference. If the relative density is exactly 1 then the densities are equal; that is, equal volumes of the two substances have the same mass. If the reference material is water, then a substance with a relative density (or specific gravity) less than 1 will float in water. For example, an ice cube, with a relative density of about 0.91, will float. A substance with a relative density greater than 1 will sink. Temperature and pressure must be specified for both the sample and the reference. Pressure is nearly always 1 atm (101.325 kPa). Where it is not, it is more usual to specify the density directly. Temperatures for both sample and reference vary from industry to industry. In British brewing practice, the specific gravity, as specified above, is multiplied by 1000. 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, must weight (syrups, juices, honeys, brewers wort, must, etc.) and acids.
Freebase
Specific gravity
Specific gravity is the ratio of the density of a substance compared to the density of a reference substance. 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 for liquids or air for gases. Temperature and pressure must be specified for both the sample and the reference. Pressure is nearly always 1 atm equal to 101.325 kPa. Temperatures for both sample and reference vary from industry to industry. In British brewing practice the specific gravity as specified above is multiplied by 1000. 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 and acids.
The Nuttall Encyclopedia
Specific Gravity
the weight of a body compared with another of equal bulk taken as a standard, such as the weight of a cubic inch of water.
U.S. National Library of Medicine
Specific Gravity
The ratio of the density of a material to the density of some standard material, such as water or air, at a specified temperature.
Dictionary of Nautical Terms
specific gravity
The comparative weights of equal bulks of different bodies, water being generally represented as unity.
Military Dictionary and Gazetteer
specific gravity
See Gravity.
Matched Categories
Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of specific gravity in Chaldean Numerology is: 5
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of specific gravity in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1
Translations for specific gravity
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
Get even more translations for specific gravity »
Translation
Find a translation for the specific gravity definition in other languages:
Select another language:
- - Select -
- 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
- 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
- Español (Spanish)
- Esperanto (Esperanto)
- 日本語 (Japanese)
- Português (Portuguese)
- Deutsch (German)
- العربية (Arabic)
- Français (French)
- Русский (Russian)
- ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
- 한국어 (Korean)
- עברית (Hebrew)
- Gaeilge (Irish)
- Українська (Ukrainian)
- اردو (Urdu)
- Magyar (Hungarian)
- मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
- Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Italiano (Italian)
- தமிழ் (Tamil)
- Türkçe (Turkish)
- తెలుగు (Telugu)
- ภาษาไทย (Thai)
- Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
- Čeština (Czech)
- Polski (Polish)
- Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Românește (Romanian)
- Nederlands (Dutch)
- Ελληνικά (Greek)
- Latinum (Latin)
- Svenska (Swedish)
- Dansk (Danish)
- Suomi (Finnish)
- فارسی (Persian)
- ייִדיש (Yiddish)
- հայերեն (Armenian)
- Norsk (Norwegian)
- English (English)
Word of the Day
Would you like us to send you a FREE new word definition delivered to your inbox daily?
Citation
Use the citation below to add this definition to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"specific gravity." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2023. Web. 3 Jun 2023. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/specific+gravity>.
Discuss these specific gravity definitions with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In