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Revision as of 21:26, 30 January 2003 editXJaM (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users11,305 editsm typo + proper link← Previous edit Revision as of 21:51, 20 February 2003 edit undoLooxix~enwiki (talk | contribs)6,016 editsm disambiguate MercuryNext edit →
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:] 1.025 &times; 10<sup>-3</sup> Pa.s :] 1.025 &times; 10<sup>-3</sup> Pa.s
:] 2.0 &times; 10<sup>-3</sup> Pa.s :] 2.0 &times; 10<sup>-3</sup> Pa.s
:] 17.0 &times; 10<sup>-3</sup> Pa.s :] 17.0 &times; 10<sup>-3</sup> Pa.s
:] 30 &times; 10<sup>-3</sup> Pa.s :] 30 &times; 10<sup>-3</sup> Pa.s
:] 81 &times; 10<sup>-3</sup> Pa.s :] 81 &times; 10<sup>-3</sup> Pa.s

Revision as of 21:51, 20 February 2003

Viscosity is a property of fluids describing their internal resistance to flow and may be thought of as a measure of fluid friction. Rheology is the field of science that deals with viscosity; viscosity is measured with a viscometer.

If the viscosity of a fluid is constant (neglecting temperature and pressure effects) it is said to be a Newtonian fluid. Non-Newtonian fluids exhibit a variation of viscosity depending on gradients within the flow field, the history that a fluid 'particle' experiences on its flow path, etc. If the viscosity of a fluid depends solely on the gradients within the flow field it is called generalized Newtonian or purely Newtonian.

The viscosity of fluids is either given as absolute or dynamic viscosity η (Pa.s = Ns/m = kg/ms) or as kinematic viscosity ν (m/s). Both terms are related via the fluid density ρ to each other: η = ν * ρ. The old smaller cgs physical unit for dynamic viscosity is poise after Jean Louis Marie Poiseuille (1797-1869): 1 poise = 100 centipoise = 1 g/cms = 0.1 Pa.s. The old unit for kinematic viscosity is stokes (in U.S. called stoke) after George Gabriel Stokes (1819-1903): 1 stokes = 1 cm/s = 0.0001 m/s.

Some dynamic viscosities of Newtonian fluids are listed below:

Gases (at 0 °C):

hydrogen 8.4 × 10 Pa.s
air 17.4 × 10 Pa.s
xenon 21.2 × 10 Pa.s

Liquids (at 20 °C):

ethyl alcohol 0.248 × 10 Pa.s
acetone 0.326 × 10 Pa.s
methanol 0.59 × 10 Pa.s
benzene 0.64 × 10 Pa.s
water 1.025 × 10 Pa.s
nitrobenzol 2.0 × 10 Pa.s
mercury 17.0 × 10 Pa.s
sulfuric acid 30 × 10 Pa.s
olive oil 81 × 10 Pa.s
castor oil 985 × 10 Pa.s
glycerin 1485 × 10 Pa.s
pitch 10 Pa.s

Contrary to many assertions, glass is an amorphous solid, not a liquid, and it does not flow, but still we can talk about its viscosity. See the article on glass for more details on this.

Many fluids like honey have a wide range of viscosity.