# \*% alcohol by volume, what does it mean

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-by-volume-what-does-it-mean/107032>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 3, 2002, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-by-volume-what-does-it-mean/107032 "2002-05-03T11:03:57Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\
**Post date:** [May 4, 2002, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-by-volume-what-does-it-mean/107032/21 "2002-05-04T22:07:48Z")

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Oh, and as Shalmaneser points out, they use chromatography these days. It’s more efficient, requires less training, and tells you more.

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**Author:** ![bmerton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/34f0e0/32.png) [@bmerton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmerton)\
**Post date:** [May 6, 2002, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-by-volume-what-does-it-mean/107032/22 "2002-05-06T06:07:14Z")

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Have I missed something?

I thought that the reason that it was ‘% by volume’ was to distinguish it from ‘% proof’.

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**Author:** ![Wikkit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c0e974/32.png) [@Wikkit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wikkit)\
**Post date:** [May 6, 2002, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-by-volume-what-does-it-mean/107032/23 "2002-05-06T06:24:03Z")

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No, because it isn’t ‘% proof’. Percent is per hundred, and proof is per 200.

Semantics aside, I don’t think proof has a meaning in the US beyond being twice the alcohol % by volume. When was the last time you saw someone burning gunpowder and alcohol to see what concentration it had?

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**Author:** ![Pjen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Pjen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pjen)\
**Post date:** [May 6, 2002, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcohol-by-volume-what-does-it-mean/107032/24 "2002-05-06T10:59:36Z")

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It’s percentage (%) of alcohol and degrees (superscript 0) proof.

And confusingly, 100% alcohol is 200 degrees proof in the US and 180 degrees proof in the UK.

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