= Refractive index detector
A <refractive index detector> measures the difference in <refractive index> between a sample stream and a reference. In <liquid chromatography>, a solute passing through the detector can change that difference and produce a signal.
The signal depends on both <solute> concentration and the solute's refractive-index increment relative to the <solvent>. Temperature drift or changing mobile-phase composition can also shift the baseline, so a peak is not automatically a substance-specific identification.
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