Editing Brix (section)

{{Short description|Sugar content of an aqueous solution}}
{{other uses}}
[[File:Brix acide sudachi 23-08-2016.jpg|thumb|Measuring brix and percent acidity of a [[sudachi]]]]
'''Degrees Brix''' (symbol °Bx) is a measure of the dissolved solids in a liquid, based on its [[specific gravity]], and is commonly used to measure dissolved [[sugar]] content of a solution.<ref>{{cite web |title=Definition of brix |url=https://www.foodscience-avenue.com/2013/09/definition-of-brix.html |access-date=2022-10-14 |archive-date=2022-10-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221014053138/https://www.foodscience-avenue.com/2013/09/definition-of-brix.html |url-status=usurped }}</ref> One degree Brix is 1 gram of [[sucrose]] solute dissolved in 100 grams of solution and represents the strength of the solution as [[percentage by mass]]. If the solution contains dissolved solids other than pure sucrose, then the °Bx only approximates the dissolved solid content. For example, when one adds equal amounts of salt and sugar to equal amounts of water, the degrees Brix of the salt solution rises faster than the sugar solution, because it is denser. The unit °Bx is traditionally used in the [[wine]], [[sugar]], [[carbonated beverage]], [[fruit juice]], [[fresh produce]], [[maple syrup]], and [[honey]] industries. The °Bx is also used for measuring the concentration of a [[cutting fluid]] mixed in water for metalworking processes. Dissolved solids can also be measured in °Bx with a [[refractometer]], but it must be calibrated for the particular dissolved substance, because refractivity does not correspond exactly to specific gravity.

Comparable scales for indicating sucrose content are: the [[Plato scale]] (°P), which is widely used by the [[brewing industry]]; the [[Oechsle scale]] used in German and Swiss wine making industries, amongst others; and the Balling scale, which is the oldest of the three systems and therefore mostly found in older textbooks, but is still in use in some parts of the world.<ref>Hough, J.S., D. E. Briggs, R. Stevens and T. W. Young, ''Malting and Brewing Science, Vol 2 Hopped Wort and Beer'', Chapman & Hall, London,1971</ref>

A sucrose solution with an [[apparent specific gravity]] (20°/20&nbsp;°C) of 1.040 would be 9.99325 °Bx or 9.99359 °P while the representative sugar body, the [[International Commission for Uniform Methods of Sugar Analysis]] (ICUMSA), which favours the use of [[Mass fraction (chemistry)|mass fraction]], would report the solution strength as 9.99249%. Because the differences between the systems are of little practical significance (the differences are less than the precision of most common instruments) and wide historical use of the Brix unit, modern instruments calculate mass fraction using ICUMSA official formulas but report the result as °Bx.