Refractive indexes are pretty easy to measure with a laser pointer, and a scale. If you shine the laser into the liquid at an angle, it will bend at the point of entry a specific amount depending on the refractive index. The index can be computed using Snell's law.
http://www4.geology.utoronto.ca/glg206/Optical_Laboratory_1.html Marshall Matthew McCann PE wrote: > I tried to generate LVDC titanium and got nothingbut gas bubbles on > the two Ti electrodes, until I addedsome CS/EIS. An initially weak > Tyndall effect began togrow steadily, or so it seemed. (TE is > subjective.) By the way, there may be an overlooked method ofmeasuring > colloid concentration or size. Searle (1919)mentions that refractive > index changes measurably incolloidal sols of gold, silver and > copper.(p. 81, TheUse Of Colloids In Health And Disease.)Hollow prisms > for observing refraction by liquids areon the market. I conjecture > that viewing a finelygraduated ruling through such a prism with > atheodilite or transit would give a sensitive way ofmeasuring > refractive index, and additional infoabout the sol. Best > regards, Matthew
