Teaduslikus kasutuses eelistatakse terminit "suhteline tihedus", samas kui termin "erikaal" on aegunud.
Hea teada
Vedelike suhtelist tihedust mõõdetakse peaaegu alati kõige tihedama vee suhtes (4 °C juures) ja gaaside puhul on võrdlusaluseks õhk toatemperatuuril (20 °C).
The term "relative density" (often abbreviated r.d. or RD) is often preferred in scientific usage, whereas the term "specific gravity" is deprecated.
Hea teada
Relative density for liquids is nearly always measured with respect to water at its densest (at 4 °C), and for gases, the reference is air at room temperature (20 °C).
