Measuring the flowrate of a compressible is dependent on the density, the pressure and the temperature of the gas.
Rotameter flow indicators are good to 1-2%, but the repeatability is almost perfect. To get the best accuracy, you must know the pressure at the discharge of the meter.
You get the STANDARD-CONDITIONS air capacity of a rotameter from the capacity tables in the catalog. The denser compressed flow is slower and will not provide as much lifting force on the rotameter float.....that's why the correction is made.
To correct for different gas density, press, and temp use the following equation:
CF=sqrt((SG*Tr) /(36*Pabs)
SCFM selected x CF =rated Air capacity
Example: If your nitrogen is at 60 degreesF and 50 psig
The SG of N2 is .97, 60 F is 520R, and 50 psig is 64.7 psia.
CF=sqrt 0.2165 =.465
So to read 100 scfh at full scale, pick a meter as close as possible to 46.5 SCFH AIR at atmospheric, 60F.
You can get Roatameters both with valves and with flow controllers. A flow controller is a constant differential relay that looks at the differential across the valve seat, and opens or closes to maintain a constant differential across the restriction-hence constant flowrate.