DENSITY

A material's density is defined as its mass per unit volume. "Density" sometimes
means the ratio between other properties instead of mass and volume. Then it
means how much of a property can be found in a specific piece of what they are
looking at. Density is essentially a measurement of how tightly matter is crammed
together. The principle of density was discovered by the Greek scientist
Archimedes, but it is easy to calculate if you know the formula and understand its
related units.1

To calculate the density (usually represented by the Greek letter "ρ") of an object,
take the mass (m) and divide by the volume (v):

ρ=m/v

The SI unit of density is kilogram per cubic meter (kg/m3). It is also frequently
represented in the cgs unit of grams per cubic centimeter (g/cm3).
For example, population density is how many people live within the same amount
of land area. The population density in the city is higher than the country side
because people live closer to each other in the city. In computers, storage density
is how much data can fit on a data storage device in relation to its physical size. A
Blu-ray disc has a higher storage density than a DVD which has a higher storage
density than a CD, even though they all have almost exactly the same volume.

Using Density

One of the most common uses of density is in how different materials interact when
mixed together. Wood floats in water because it has a lower density, while an
anchor sinks because the metal has a higher density. Helium balloons float
because the density of the helium is lower than the density of the air.

When your automotive service station tests various liquids, like transmission fluid,
it will pour some of the fluid into a hydrometer. The hydrometer has several
calibrated objects, some of which float in the liquid. By observing which of the
objects float, the service station employees can determine the density of the liquid.
In the case of the transmission fluid, this test reveals whether service station
employees need to replace it immediately, or whether the fluid still has some life
in it.

Density allows you to solve for mass and volume if given the other quantity. Since
the density of common substances is known, this calculation is fairly
straightforward, in the form. (Note that the asterisk symbol—"*"—is used to avoid
confusion with the variables for volume and density, ρ and v, respectively.) 2

1
https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-density-definition-and-calculation-2698950
2
https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Density
v*ρ=m
or
m/ρ=v

The change in density can also be useful in analyzing some situations, such as
whenever a chemical conversion is taking place and energy is being released. The
charge in a storage battery, for example, is an acidic solution. As the battery
discharges electricity, the acid combines with the lead in the battery to form a new
chemical, which results in a decrease in the density of the solution. This density
can be measured to determine the battery's level of remaining charge.

Density is a key concept in analyzing how materials interact in fluid mechanics,

weather, geology, material sciences, engineering, and other fields of physics. 3

Types

Density of mass

 Density, mass per unit volume

 Bulk density
Bulk density is a property of powders, granules, and other "divided" solids,
especially used in reference to mineral components (soil, gravel), chemical
substances, (pharmaceutical) ingredients, foodstuff, or any other masses of
corpuscular or particulate matter. It is defined as the mass of
many particles of the material divided by the total volume they occupy. The
total volume includes particle volume, inter-particle void volume, and
internal pore volume.4
Bulk density is not an intrinsic property of a material; it can change
depending on how the material is handled. For example, a powder poured
into a cylinder will have a particular bulk density; if the cylinder is disturbed,
the powder particles will move and usually settle closer together, resulting
in a higher bulk density. For this reason, the bulk density of powders is
usually reported both as "freely settled" (or "poured" density) and "tapped"
density (where the tapped density refers to the bulk density of the powder

3
https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Density
4
Page 50 in Buckman, Harry O.; Brady, Nyle C. (1960), The Nature and Property of Soils - A College Text of
Edaphology (6th ed.), New York: Macmillan Publishers, New York, NY
 after a specified compaction process, usually involving vibration of the
container.5)

 Particle density (packed density)

The particle density or true density of a particulate solid or powder, is the
density of the particles that make up the powder, in contrast to the bulk
density, which measures the average density of a large volume of the
powder in a specific medium (usually air).
The particle density is a relatively well-defined quantity, as it is not
dependent on the degree of compaction of the solid, whereas the bulk
density has different values depending on whether it is measured in the
freely settled or compacted state (tap density). However, a variety of
definitions of particle density are available, which differ in terms of whether
pores are included in the particle volume, and whether voids are included. 6

 Neutral density
The neutral density or empirical neutral density is a density variable
used in oceanography, introduced in 1997 by David R. Jackett and Trevor
McDougall.7It is function of the three state variables (salinity, temperature,
and pressure) and the geographical location (longitude and latitude) and it
has the typical units of density(M/V).
The level surfaces of form the “neutral density surfaces”. These are
widely regarded as the most natural layer interfaces stratifying the deep
oceancirculation, along which the strong lateral mixing in the ocean occurs,
although this has yet to be rigorously established. These surfaces are
widely used in water masses analysis. Neutral density is a density variable
that depends on the particular state of the ocean, and hence a function of
time as well, although this is often ignored. In practice, its construction for
a given hydrographic observation is achieved by means of a computational
code (available for Matlab and Fortran), that contains the
computational algorithm developed by Jackett and McDougall. Use of this
code is currently restricted to the present day ocean.

 Planck density
In particle physics and physical cosmology, Planck units are a set of units
of measurement defined exclusively in terms of five universal physical

5
Powder Bulk Density - Bulk Solids density - Bulk Powder Properties - Powder Loose Density - Powder
tapped density - PowderProcess.net". www.powderprocess.net. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
6
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Particle_density_(packed_density)
7
Jackett, David R., Trevor J. McDougall, 1997: A Neutral Density Variable for the World's Oceans. J. Phys.
Oceanogr., 27, 237–263
 constants, in such a manner that these five physical constants take on the
numerical value of 1 when expressed in terms of these units.
Originally proposed in 1899 by German physicist Max Planck, these units
are also known as natural units because the origin of their definition comes
only from properties of nature and not from any human construct. Planck
units are only one system of several systems of natural units, but Planck
units are not based on properties of any prototype object or particle (that
would be arbitrarily chosen), but rather on only the properties of free space.
Planck units have significance for theoretical physics since they simplify
several recurring algebraic expressions of physical
law by nondimensionalization. They are relevant in research on unified
theories such as quantum gravity.
The term "Planck scale" refers to the magnitudes of space, time, energy
and other units, below which (or beyond which) the predictions of
the Standard Model, quantum field theory and general relativity are no
longer reconcilable, and quantum effects of gravity are expected to
dominate. This region may be characterized
19
by energies around 1.22×10 GeV (the Planck energy), time intervals
around 5.39×10−44 s (the Planck time)
−35
and lengths around 1.62×10 m (the Planck length). At the Planck scale,
current models are not expected to be a useful guide to the cosmos,
and physicists no longer have any scientific model whatsoever to suggest
how the physical universe behaves. The best known example is
represented by the conditions in the first 10−43 seconds of our
universe after the Big Bang, approximately 13.8 billion years ago.
The five universal constants that Planck units, by definition, normalize to 1
are:

 the speed of light in a vacuum, c,

 the gravitational constant, G,
 the reduced Planck constant, ħ,
 the Coulomb constant, ke = 1/4πε0
 the Boltzmann constant, kB
Each of these constants can be associated with a fundamental physical
theory or concept: c with special relativity, G with general
relativity, ħ with quantum mechanics, ε0 with electromagnetism,
and kB with the notion of temperature/energy (statistical
mechanics and thermodynamics).8

8
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planck_units#Derived_units
  Area density

The areal density (also known as area density, surface density, superficial
density, or density thickness) of a two-dimensional object is calculated as
the massper unit area. The SI derived unit is: kilogram per square metre
(kg·m−2). In the paper and fabric industries, it is called grammage and is
expressed in grams per square meter (gsm); for paper in particular, it may
be expressed as pounds per ream of standard sizes ("basis ream").9

 Linear density
Linear density is the measure of a quantity of any characteristic value per
unit of length. Linear mass density (titer in textile engineering, the amount
of mass per unit length) and linear charge density (the amount of electric
charge per unit length) are two common examples used in science and
engineering.
The term linear density is most often used when describing the
characteristics of one-dimensional objects, although linear density can also
be used to describe the density of a three-dimensional quantity along one
particular dimension. Just as density is most often used to mean mass
density, the term linear density likewise often refers to linear mass density.
However, this is only one example of a linear density, as any quantity can
be measured in terms of its value along one dimension.
Consider a long, thin rod of mass and length . To calculate the average
linear mass density, of this one dimensional object, we can simply
divide the total mass, , by the total length, :

If we describe the rod as having a varying mass (one that varies as a

function of position along the length of the rod, ), we can write:

Each infinitesimal unit of mass, , is equal to the product of its linear

mass density, , and the infinitesimal unit of length, :

The linear mass density can then be understood as the derivative of the
mass function with respect to the one dimension of the rod (the position
along its length

9
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Area_density
 The SI unit of linear mass density is the kilogram per meter (kg/m).
Linear density of fibers and yarns can be measured by many methods. The
simplest one is to measure a length of material and weigh it. However, this
requires a large sample and masks the variability of linear density along the
thread, and is difficult to apply if the fibers are crimped or otherwise cannot
lay flat relaxed. If the density of the material is known, the fibers are
measured individually and have a simple shape, a more accurate method
is direct imaging of the fiber with SEM to measure the diameter and
calculation of the linear density. Finally, linear density is directly measured
with a vibroscope. The sample is tensioned between two hard points,
mechanical vibration is induced and the fundamental frequency is
measured.1011

 Relative density or specific gravity

Relative density, or specific gravity,1213 is the ratio of the density (mass of a
unit volume) of a substance to the density of a given reference material.
Specific gravity usually means relative density with respect to water. The
term "relative density" is often preferred in scientific usage. It is defined as
a ratio of density of particular substance with that of water.
If a substance's relative density is less than one 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 1000.14 Specific gravity

10
Patt, D.H. (1958). "Findings and Recommendations on the Use of the Vibroscope". Textile Research
Journal. 28 (8): 691. doi:10.1177/004051755802800809
11
"ISO 1973:1995. Textile fibres -- Determination of linear density -- Gravimetric method and vibroscope
method"
12
Dana, Edward Salisbury (1922). A text-book of mineralogy: with an extended treatise on
crystallography... New York, London(Chapman Hall): John Wiley and Sons. pp. 195–200, 316.
13
Schetz, Joseph A.; Allen E. Fuhs (1999-02-05). Fundamentals of fluid mechanics. Wiley, John & Sons,
Incorporated. pp. 111, 142, 144, 147, 109, 155, 157, 160, 175. ISBN 0-471-34856-2.
14
Hough, J.S., Briggs, D.E., Stevens, R and Young, T.W. Malting and Brewing Science, Vol. II Hopped Wort
and Beer, Chapman and Hall, London, 1991, p. 881
 is commonly used in industry as a simple means of obtaining information
about the concentration of solutions of various materials such
as brines, sugar solutions (syrups, juices, honeys, brewers wort, must, etc.)
and acids.

 Vapour density
Vapour density is the density of a vapour in relation to that of hydrogen. It
may be defined as mass of a certain volume of a substance divided by mass
of same volume of hydrogen.
vapour density = mass of n molecules of gas / mass of n molecules of
hydrogen.
Thus:
vapour density = molar mass of gas / molar mass of H2
vapour density = molar mass of gas / 2.016
vapour density = ~½ × molar mass
(and thus: molar mass = ~2 × vapour density) For example, vapour density
of mixture of NO2 and N2O4 is 38. 3.Vapour density is a unitless quantity.15
Densities of other entities

 Number density
In physics, astronomy, chemistry, biology and geography, number
density (symbol: n or ρN) is an intensive quantity used to describe the degree
of concentration of countable objects
(particles, molecules, phonons, cells, galaxies, etc.) in physical space: three-
dimensional volumetric number density, two-dimensional areal number
density, or one-dimensional linear number density. Population density is an
example of areal number density. The term number concentration (symbol: C,
to avoid confusion with amount of substance n) is sometimes used in chemistry
for the same quantity, particularly when comparing with other concentrations.16

 Current density
In electromagnetism, current density is the electric current per unit area of
cross section. The current density vector is defined as a vector whose
magnitude is the electric current per cross-sectional area at a given point in
space, its direction being that of the motion of the charges at this point. In SI
units, the electric current density is measured in amperes per square metre.17

15
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vapour_density
16
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number_density
17
Encyclopaedia of Physics (2nd Edition), R.G. Lerner, G.L. Trigg, VHC publishers, 1991, ISBN
(Verlagsgesellschaft) 3-527-26954-1, ISBN (VHC Inc.) 0-89573-752-3
 Charge density
In electromagnetism, charge density is the amount of electric charge per
unit length, surface area, or volume. Volume charge density (symbolized by
the Greek letter ρ) is the quantity of charge per unit volume, measured in
the SI system in coulombs per cubic meter (C•m−3), at any point in a
volume.181920 Surface charge density (σ) is the quantity of charge per unit area,
measured in coulombs per square meter (C•m−2), at any point on a surface
charge distribution on a two dimensional surface. Linear charge density (λ) is
the quantity of charge per unit length, measured in coulombs per meter (C•m−1),
at any point on a line charge distribution. Charge density can be either positive
or negative, since electric charge can be either positive or negative.
Like mass density, charge density can vary with position. In classical
electromagnetic theory charge density is idealized as
a continuous scalar function of position like a fluid, and , ,
and are usually regarded as continuous charge distributions, even though
all real charge distributions are made up of discrete charged particles. Due to
the conservation of electric charge, the charge density in any volume can only
change if an electric current of charge flows into or out of the volume. This is
expressed by a continuity equation which links the rate of change of charge
density and the current density .
Since all charge is carried by subatomic particles, which can be idealized as
points, the concept of a continuous charge distribution is an approximation,
which becomes inaccurate at small length scales. A charge distribution is
ultimately composed of individual charged particles separated by regions
containing no charge. For example the charge in an electrically charged metal
object is made up of conduction electrons moving randomly in the
metal's crystal lattice. Static electricity is caused by surface charges consisting
of ions on the surface of objects, and the space charge in a vacuum tube is
composed of a cloud of free electrons moving randomly in space. The charge
carrier density in a conductor is equal to the number of mobile charge
carriers (electrons, ions, etc.) per unit volume. The charge density at any point
is equal to the charge carrier density multiplied by the elementary charge on
the particles. However because the elementary charge on an electron is so
small (1.6•10−19 C) and there are so many of them in a macroscopic volume
(there are about 10 conduction electrons in a cubic centimeter of copper) the
continuous approximation is very accurate when applied to macroscopic
volumes, and even microscopic volumes above the nanometer level.

18
P.M. Whelan, M.J. Hodgeson (1978). Essential Principles of Physics (2nd ed.). John Murray. ISBN 0-7195-
3382-1.
19
"Physics 2: Electricity and Magnetism, Course Notes, Ch. 2, p. 15-16" (PDF). MIT OpenCourseware.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 2007. Retrieved December 3, 2017
20
Serway, Raymond A.; Jewett, John W. (2013). Physics for Scientists and Engineers, Vol. 2, 9th Ed.
Cengage Learning. p. 704.
 At atomic scales, due to the uncertainty principle of quantum mechanics, a
charged particle does not have a precise position but is represented by
a probability distribution, so the charge of an individual particle is not
concentrated at a point but is 'smeared out' in space and acts like a true
continuous charge distribution. This is the meaning of 'charge distribution' and
'charge density' used in chemistry and chemical bonding. An electron is
represented by a wavefunction whose square is proportional to the
probability of finding the electron at any point in space, so is
proportional to the charge density of the electron at any point.
In atomsand molecules the charge of the electrons is distributed in clouds
called orbitals which surround the atom or molecule, and are responsible
for chemical bondings.21

 Energy density

Energy density is the amount of energy stored in a given system or region of

space per unit volume. Colloquially it may also be used for energy per
unit mass, though the accurate term for this is specific energy. Often only
the useful or extractable energy is measured, which is to say that inaccessible
energy (such as rest mass energy) is ignored.22In cosmological and
other general relativistic contexts, however, the energy densities considered
are those that correspond to the elements of the stress–energy tensor and
therefore do include mass energy as well as energy densities associated with
the pressures described in the next paragraph.
Energy per unit volume has the same physical units as pressure, and in many
circumstances is a synonym: for example, the energy density of a magnetic
field may be expressed as (and behaves as) a physical pressure, and the
energy required to compress a compressed gas a little more may be
determined by multiplying the difference between the gas pressure and the
external pressure by the change in volume. In short, pressure is a measure of
the enthalpy per unit volume of a system. A pressure gradient has the potential
to perform work on the surroundings by converting enthalpy to work until
equilibrium is reached.

 Force density
In fluid mechanics, the force density is the negative gradient of pressure. It has
the physical dimensions of force per unit volume. Force density is a vector field
representing the flux density of the hydrostatic force within the bulk of a fluid.
Force density is represented by the symbol f 23 , and given by the following
equation, where P is the pressure:

21
Purcell, Edward (2011-09-22). Electricity and Magnetism. Cambridge University Press. ISBN
9781107013605.
22
"The Two Classes of SI Units and the SI Prefixes". NIST Guide to the SI. Retrieved 2012-01-25.
23
Force Density. Eric Weisstein's World of Physics. Accessed March 8th, 2012.
 The net force on a differential volume element dV of the fluid is:

Force density acts in different ways which is caused by the boundary

conditions. There is stick-slip boundary conditions and stick boundary
conditions which effect force density.
In a sphere placed in an arbitrary non-stationary flow field of viscous
incompressible fluid for stick boundary conditions where the force density’s
calculations leads to show the generalization of Faxen's theorem to force
multipole moments of arbitrary order.
In a sphere moving in an incompressible fluid in a non-stationary flow with
mixed stick-slip boundary condition where the force of density shows an
expression of the Faxén type for the total force, but the total torque and the
symmetric force-dipole moment.24
The force density at a point in a fluid, divided by the density, is
the acceleration of the fluid at that point.
The force density F is defined as the force per unit volume, so that:

The force density in an electromagnetic field is given in cgs by:

Where p is the charge density, E is the electric field, J is the current density, c
is the speed of light, and B is the magnetic field.25

 Optical density
"Optical density" can also refer to index of refraction.26 For use of the term
"optical density" in molecular biology
In chemistry, absorbance or decadic absorbance is the common logarithm of
the ratio of incident to transmitted radiant power through a material,
and spectral absorbance or spectral decadic absorbance is the common
logarithm of the ratio of incident to transmitted spectral radiant power through
a material. Absorbance is dimensionless, and in particular is not a length,
though it is a monotonically increasing function of path length, and approaches
zero as the path length approaches zero. The use of the term "optical density"

24
Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications Volume 84, Issue 3, Pages 435-641 (1976)Accessed
January 19th, 2015
25
Force Density. Eric Weinstein's World of Physics. Accessed January 17th, 2015.
26
Zitzewitz, Paul W. (1999). Glencoe Physics. New York, N.Y.: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill. p. 395. ISBN 0-02-
825473-2.
 for absorbance is discouraged. 27In physics, a closely related quantity called
"optical depth" is used instead of absorbance: the natural logarithm of the ratio
of incident to transmitted radiant power through a material. The optical depth
equals the absorbance times ln(10).
The term absorption refers to the physical process of absorbing light, while
absorbance does not always measure absorption: it measures attenuation (of
transmitted radiant power). Attenuation can be caused by absorption, but also
reflection, scattering, and other physical processes.

 Densitometry

Densitometry is the quantitative measurement of optical density in light-

sensitive materials, such as photographic paper or photographic film, due to
exposure to light.

 Particle density (particle count)

Particle density, in the context of particle counts, is a measurement of the

number of particles in a spatial unit of a particle-bearing medium. Where the
spatial unit is one of volume, the medium is likely to a fluid; in another class of
cases, the unit is one of area of a surface, and the particles rest on or adhere
to that surface.

Factors Affecting Density

Thickness

27
IUPAC, Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 2nd ed. (the "Gold Book") (1997). Online corrected
version: (2006–) "Absorbance
CONTRAST
Contrast is the difference in luminance or colour that makes an object (or its
representation in an image or display) distinguishable. In visual perception of the
real world, contrast is determined by the difference in the color and brightness of
the object and other objects within the same field of view. The human visual system
is more sensitive to contrast than absolute luminance; we can perceive the world
similarly regardless of the huge changes in illumination over the day or from place
to place. The maximum contrast of an image is the contrast ratio or dynamic range.
According to Campbell and Robson (1968), the human contrast sensitivity
function shows a typical band-pass filter shape peaking at around 4 cycles per
degree with sensitivity dropping off either side of the peak .[1] This finding has led
many to claim that the human visual system is most sensitive in detecting contrast
differences occurring at 4 cycles per degree; i.e., at this spatial frequency humans
can detect lower contrast differences than at any other angular
frequency.[2][3] However, the claim of frequency sensitivity is problematic given, for
example, that changes of distance don't seem to affect the relevant perceptual
patterns (as noted, for example, in the figure caption to Solomon and Pelli
(1994)[4] While the latter authors are referring specifically to letters, they make no
objective distinction between these and other shapes.
The high-frequency cut-off represents the optical limitations of the visual system's
ability to resolve detail and is typically about 60 cycles per degree. The high-
frequency cut-off is related to the packing density of the retinal photoreceptor cells:
a finer matrix can resolve finer gratings.
The low frequency drop-off is due to lateral inhibition within the retinal ganglion
cells. A typical retinal ganglion cell presents a centre region with either excitation
or inhibition and a surround region with the opposite sign. By using coarse gratings,
the bright bands fall on the inhibitory as well as the excitatory region of the ganglion
cell resulting in lateral inhibition and account for the low-frequency drop-off of the
human contrast sensitivity function.
One experimental phenomenon is the inhibition of blue in the periphery if blue light
is displayed against white, leading to a yellow surrounding. The yellow is derived
from the inhibition of blue on the surroundings by the center. Since white minus
blue is red and green, this mixes to become yellow.[5]
For example, in the case of graphical computer displays, contrast depends on the
properties of the picture source or file and the properties of the computer display,
including its variable settings. For some screens the angle between the screen
surface and the observer's line of sight is also important.
1. Campbell, F. W. & Robson, J. G. (1968). "Application of Fourier analysis to
the visibility of gratings". Journal of Physiology. 197 (3): 551–566. PMC
1351748. PMID 5666169
2. Klein, S. A., Carney, T., Barghout-Stein, L., & Tyler, C. W. (1997, June).
Seven models of masking. In Electronic Imaging'97 (pp. 13-24).
International Society for Optics and Aerodynamics.
3. Barghout-Stein, Lauren. On differences between peripheral and foveal
pattern masking. Diss. University of California, Berkeley, 1999.
4. Solomon, J. A., & Pelli, D. G. (1994). The visual filter mediating letter
identification. Nature, 369(6479), 395-397.
5. "eye, human."Encyclopædia Britannica. 2008. Encyclopædia Britannica 2006 Ultimate
Reference Suite DVD