Disclosed are a method and an apparatus for precision optical measurement
of solute concentration and temperature of a transparent liquid. The
apparatus includes a vessel (12) which contains a sample of liquid (14),
the refractive index of which is to be determined, a light source (22) and
a beam position sensor (30). The vessel (12) has an entrance side and an
exit side, with a known angular relationship therebetween, and is situated
in a known ambient The light source (22) is located so as to cause a beam
of light to impinge on the entrance side at an angle with respect to a
normal to an outer surface of the entrance side, to pass through the
liquid (14), and to then pass through the exit side, from which it exits
at an angle with respect to a normal to an outer surface of the exit side.
The beam position sensor (30) provides data for determining the exit angle
thereby permitting the refractive index of the liquid to be determined,
based on the angles.