Rapid yet accurate measurement of mass diffusion coefficients by phase shifting interferometer

The technique of using a phase-shifting interferometer is applied to the study of diffusion in transparent liquid mixtures. A quick method is proposed for determining the diffusion coefficient from the measurements of the location of fringes on a grey level picture. The measurement time is very short (within 100 s) and a very small transient diffusion field can be observed and recorded accurately with a rate of 30 frames per second. The measurement can be completed using less than 0.12 cc of solutions. The influence of gravity on the measurement of the diffusion coefficient is eliminated in the present method. Results on NaCl-water diffusion systems are presented and compared with the reference data.