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  Home > JCE Print > Journal of Chemical Education > Issues > 1997  > November  >
In the Laboratory
Measurement of Evaporation Rates of Organic Liquids by Optical Interference
Scott A. Riley, Nathan R. Franklin, Bobbie Oudinarath, Sally Wong, David Congalton, and A. M. Nishimura*
Westmont College, Department of Chemistry, Santa Barbara, CA 93108-1099

Cover
November 1997
Vol. 74 No. 11
p. 1320

Abstract
The He-Ne laser and the solid state laser pointer are inexpensive sources of collimated light which can be used in undergraduate laboratory experiments. In this article, the rate of evaporation is measured for several volatile organic liquids by optical interference. The laser light reflects and refracts at the air-surface interface; the latter beam then reflects at the lower liquid glass interface. These two beams are focused onto a photodiode. The optical interference occurs as a result of the different distances traveled by the two beams and the intensity at the detector oscillates as the liquid evaporates. The frequency of oscillation is used to determine the rate of evaporation.
More Information
*  Citation
Riley, Scott A.; Franklin, Nathan R.; Oudinarath, Bobbie; Wong, Sally; Congalton, David; Nishimura, A. M. J. Chem. Educ. 1997 74 1320.
*  Keywords
Instrumental Methods, Laboratory Instruction, Surface Science, and Thermodynamics
*  History
Created:
Last Updated:
July 26, 1999
June 23, 2005
  Home > JCE Print > Journal of Chemical Education > Issues > 1997 > November > Page 1320


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