There are many liquid flows in which the concentration and content of the materials within the flow change or vary. One important example is the varying percentage of water found in a liquid hydrocarbon, e.g., crude oil. It is desired to detect and measure the variations in the concentration of water contained in a hydrocarbon being removed from a hydrocarbon production well. It is also important to detect changes in the salinity of the water and to detect and measure changes in the hydrocarbon liquid removed from a production well. The invention subject of this application teaches a method and apparatus to accurately measure concentration and composition of material within a liquid. Specifically, the invention can detect and measure the concentration of water contained in a hydrocarbon flow. The invention can also detect and measure the salinity of the water. It can also be used to determine or distinguish the type of the hydrocarbon in a flow.
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