What does normalization to a 1 cm path length mean?

Normalization rescales a result; it does not lengthen the liquid column. Where the Beer–Lambert relationship applies, absorbance equivalent to 1 cm equals measured absorbance multiplied by 10 mm and divided by the actual path length in mm.

For example, at an actual path length of 1 mm, absorbance of 0.2 becomes, when normalized to 10 mm, a value of 2. This is a calculation example, not instrument data or a product configuration.

Before comparing reports, check whether values are measured or normalized. Normalization does not improve raw signal-to-noise or correct an erroneous path length, a broken liquid column or a reading outside the linear range.