Viscosity

The viscosity of a fluid is the measure of its resistance to gradual deformation by shear stress or
Viscosity
tensile stress.[1] For liquids, it corresponds to the informal concept of "thickness": for example,
syrup has a higher viscosity thanwater.[2]

Viscosity is the property of a fluid which opposes the relative motion between two surfaces of the
fluid that are moving at different velocities. In simple terms, viscosity means friction between the
molecules of fluid. When the fluid is forced through a tube, the particles which compose the fluid
generally move more quickly near the tube's axis and more slowly near its walls; therefore some
stress (such as a pressure difference between the two ends of the tube) is needed to overcome the
friction between particle layers to keep the fluid moving. For a given velocity pattern, the stress
required is proportional to the fluid's viscosity
.

A fluid that has no resistance to shear stress is known as anideal or inviscid fluid. Zero viscosity is
observed only at very low temperatures in superfluids. Otherwise, the second law of
A simulation of liquids with different viscosities.
thermodynamics requires all fluids to have positive viscosity;[3] such fluids are technically said to
The liquid on the right has higher viscosity than
be viscous or viscid. A fluid with a relatively high viscosity, such as pitch, may appear to be a
the liquid on the left.
solid.
Common symbols η, μ
Derivations from μ = G·t
other quantities
Contents
Etymology
Definition
Simple definition
General definition
Dynamic and kinematic viscosity
Momentum transport
Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids
In solids
Measurement
Units
Molecular origins
Gases
Liquids
Mixtures, blends, and suspensions
Amorphous materials
Eddy viscosity
Selected substances
Water
Air
Other common substances
See also
References
Further reading
Undergraduate-level texts
Graduate-level texts
External links

Etymology
The word "viscosity" is derived from theLatin "viscum", meaning mistletoe and also a viscous glue made from mistletoe berries.[4]

Definition
Simple definition
In materials science and engineering, one is often interested in understanding the forces involved in the
deformation of a material. In other words, one wishes to know what stresses arise in a material as the result
of some given deformation. For instance, if the material were a simple spring, the answer would be given
by Hooke's law, which says that the force experienced by a spring is proportional to the distance displaced
from equilibrium. Stresses which can be attributed to the deformation of a material from some rest state
are called elastic stresses. In other materials, stresses are present which can be attributed to the rate of
change of the deformation over time, rather than the magnitude of the deformation. These are called
viscous stresses. For instance, in a fluid like water, the stresses which arise from shearing the fluid are
clearly independent of the distance the fluid has been sheared; instead, they depend on how quickly the
shearing occurs. Illustration of a planar Couette flow. Since
the shearing flow is opposed by friction
Viscosity is the material property which relates the viscous stresses in a material to the rate of change of a between adjacent layers of fluid (which are
deformation (the strain rate). Although it applies to general flows, it is easiest to visualize and define in a in relative motion), a force is required to
simple shearing flow, such as a planar Couette flow. sustain the motion of the upper plate. The
relative strength of this force is a measure
In the Couette flow, a fluid is trapped between two infinitely large plates, one fixed and one in parallel of the fluid's viscosity.
motion at constant speed (see illustration to the right). If the speed of the top plate is low enough (to
avoid turbulence), then in steady state the fluid particles move parallel to it, and their speed varies from
at the bottom to at the top.[5] Each layer of fluid moves faster than the one just below it, and friction
between them gives rise to a force resisting their relative motion. In particular, the fluid applies on the top
plate a force in the direction opposite to its motion, and an equal but opposite force on the bottom plate.
An external force is therefore required in order to keep the top plate moving at constant speed.

In many fluids, the flow velocity is observed to vary linearly from zero at the bottom to at the top.
Moreover, the magnitude of the force acting on the top plate is found to be proportional to the speed
and the area of each plate, and inversely proportional to their separation :

The proportionality factor is the viscosity of the fluid, with units of (pascal-second). The ratio
is called the rate of shear deformationor shear velocity, and is the derivative of the fluid speed in the In a general parallel flow, the shear stress
is proportional to the gradient of the
direction perpendicular to the plates (see illustrations to the right). If the velocity does not vary linearly
velocity.
with , then the appropriate generalization is

where , and is the local shear velocity. This expression is referred to as Newton's law of viscosity. In shearing flows with planar symmetry, it is
what defines . It is a special case of the general definition of viscosity (see below), which can be expressed in coordinate-free form.

Use of the Greek letter mu ( ) for the viscosity is common among mechanical and chemical engineers, as well as physicists.[6][7][8] However, the Greek letter
eta ( ) is also used by chemists, physicists, and the IUPAC.[9] The viscosity is sometimes also referred to as the shear viscosity. However, at least one author
discourages the use of this terminology, noting that [10]
can appear in nonshearing flows in addition to shearing flows.

General definition
In very general terms, the viscous stresses in a fluid are defined as those resulting from the relative velocity of different fluid particles. As such, the viscous
stresses must depend on spatial gradients of the flow velocity
. If the velocity gradients are small, then to a first approximation the viscous stresses depend only on
the first derivatives of the velocity.[11] (For Newtonian fluids, this is also a linear dependence.) In Cartesian coordinates, the general relationship can then be
written as

where is a viscosity tensor that maps the strain rate tensor onto the viscous stress tensor .[12] Since the indices in this expression can vary from
1 to 3, there are 81 "viscosity coefficients" in total. However, due to spatial symmetries these coefficients are not all independent. For instance, for isotropic
Newtonian fluids, the 81 coefficients can be reduced to 2 independent parameters. The most usual decomposition yields the standard (scalar) viscosity and the
bulk viscosity :
where is the unit tensor, and the dagger denotes the transpose.[13][14] This equation can be thought of as a generalized form of Newton's law of viscosity
.

The bulk viscosity expresses a type of internal friction that resists the shearless compression or expansion of a fluid. Knowledge of is frequently not necessary
in fluid dynamics problems. For example, an incompressible fluid satisfies and so the term containing drops out. Moreover, is often assumed to
be negligible for gases since it is in a monoatomic ideal gas.[13] One situation in which can be important is the calculation of energy loss in sound and shock
waves, described by Stokes' law of sound attenuation, since these phenomena involve rapid expansions and compressions.

It is worth emphasizing that the above expressions are not fundamental laws of nature, but rather definitions of viscosity. As such, their utility for any given
material, as well as means for measuring or calculating the viscosity
, must be established using separate and independent means.

Dynamic and kinematic viscosity

In fluid dynamics, it is common to work in terms of the kinematic viscosity (also called "momentum diffusivity"), defined as the ratio of the viscosity μ to the
density of the fluid ρ. It is usually denoted by theGreek letter nu (ν) and has units :

Consistent with this nomenclature, the viscosity is frequently called thedynamic viscosity.

Momentum transport
Transport theory provides an alternate interpretation of viscosity in terms of momentum transport: viscosity is the material property which characterizes
momentum transport within a fluid, just as thermal conductivity characterizes heat transport, and (mass) diffusivity characterizes mass transport.[15] To see this,
note that in Newton's law of viscosity, , the shear stress has units equivalent to a momentum flux, i.e. momentum per unit time per unit area.
Thus, can be interpreted as specifying the flow of momentum in the direction from one fluid layer to the next. Per Newton's law of viscosity, this momentum
flow occurs across a velocity gradient, and themagnitude of the corresponding momentum flux is determined by the viscosity
.

The analogy with heat and mass transfer can be made explicit. Just as heat flows from high temperature to low temperature and mass flows from high density to
low density, momentum flows from high velocity to low velocity. These behaviors are all described by compact expressions, called constitutive relations, whose
one-dimensional forms are given here:

where is the density, and are the mass and heat fluxes, and and are the mass diffusivity and thermal conductivity.[16]

The fact that mass, momentum, and energy (heat) transport are among the most relevant processes in continuum mechanics is not a coincidence: these are among
the few physical quantities that are conserved at the microscopic level in interparticle collisions. Thus, rather than being dictated by the fast and complex
microscopic interaction timescale, their dynamics occurs on macroscopic timescales, as described by the various equations of transport theory and
hydrodynamics.

Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids

Newton's law of viscosity is aconstitutive equation (like Hooke's law, Fick's law, and Ohm's law): it is not a fundamental law of nature but an approximation that
holds in some materials and fails in others.

A fluid that behaves according to Newton's law, with a viscosity μ that is independent of the stress, is said to be Newtonian. Gases, water, and many common
liquids can be considered Newtonian in ordinary conditions and contexts. There are many non-Newtonian fluids that significantly deviate from that law in some
way or other. For example:

Shear-thickening liquids, whose viscosity increases with the rate of shear strain.
Shear-thinning liquids, whose viscosity decreases with the rate of shear strain.
Thixotropic liquids, that become less viscous over time when shaken, agitated, or otherwise stressed.
Rheopectic (dilatant) liquids, that become more viscous over time when shaken, agitated, or otherwise stressed.
Bingham plastics that behave as a solid at low stresses but flow as a viscous fluid at high stresses.
The Trouton ratio or Trouton's ratio is the ratio of extensional viscosity to shear viscosity.[17] For a
Newtonian fluid, the Trouton ratio is 3.[18]

Shear-thinning liquids are very commonly, but misleadingly, described as thixotropic.[19]

Even for a Newtonian fluid, the viscosity usually depends on its composition and temperature. For gases
and other compressible fluids, it depends on temperature and varies very slowly with pressure.

The viscosity of some fluids may depend on other factors. A magnetorheological fluid, for example,
becomes thicker when subjected to amagnetic field, possibly to the point of behaving like a solid.

In solids
The viscous forces that arise during fluid flow must not be confused with the elastic forces that arise in a
solid in response to shear, compression or extension stresses. While in the latter the stress is proportional Viscosity, the slope of each line, varies
to the amount of shear deformation, in a fluid it is proportional to the rate of deformation over time. (For among materials.
this reason, Maxwell used the term fugitive elasticity for fluid viscosity.)

However, many liquids (including water) will briefly react like elastic solids when subjected to sudden stress. Conversely, many "solids" (even granite) will flow
like liquids, albeit very slowly, even under arbitrarily small stress.[20] Such materials are therefore best described as possessing both elasticity (reaction to
deformation) and viscosity (reaction to rate of deformation); that is, beingviscoelastic.

Indeed, some authors have claimed that amorphous solids, such as glass and many polymers, are actually liquids with a very high viscosity (greater than
1012 Pa·s). [21] However, other authors dispute this hypothesis, claiming instead that there is some threshold for the stress, below which most solids will not flow
at all,[22] and that alleged instances of glass flow in window panes of old buildings are due to the crude manufacturing process of older eras rather than to the
viscosity of glass.[23]

Viscoelastic solids may exhibit both shear viscosity and bulk viscosity. The extensional viscosity is a linear combination of the shear and bulk viscosities that
describes the reaction of a solid elastic material to elongation. It is widely used for characterizing polymers.

In geology, earth materials that exhibit viscous deformation at least three orders of magnitude greater than their elastic deformation are sometimes called
rheids.[24]

Measurement
Viscosity is measured with various types ofviscometers and rheometers. A rheometer is used for those fluids that cannot be defined by a single value of viscosity
and therefore require more parameters to be set and measured than is the case for a viscometer. Close temperature control of the fluid is essential to acquire
accurate measurements, particularly in materials like lubricants, whose viscosity can double with a change of only 5 °C.

For some fluids, the viscosity is constant over a wide range of shear rates (Newtonian fluids). The fluids without a constant viscosity (non-Newtonian fluids)
cannot be described by a single number. Non-Newtonian fluids exhibit a variety of different correlations between shear stress and shear rate.

One of the most common instruments for measuring kinematic viscosity is the glass capillary viscometer
.

In coating industries, viscosity may be measured with a cup in which the efflux time is measured. There are several sorts of cup – such as the Zahn cup and the
Ford viscosity cup – with the usage of each type varying mainly according to the industry. The efflux time can also be converted to kinematic viscosities
[25]
(centistokes, cSt) through the conversion equations.

Also used in coatings, a Stormer viscometer uses load-based rotation in order to determine viscosity. The viscosity is reported in Krebs units (KU), which are
unique to Stormer viscometers.

Vibrating viscometers can also be used to measure viscosity. Resonant, or vibrational viscometers work by creating shear waves within the liquid. In this method,
the sensor is submerged in the fluid and is made to resonate at a specific frequency. As the surface of the sensor shears through the liquid, energy is lost due to its
viscosity. This dissipated energy is then measured and converted into a viscosity reading. A higher viscosity causes a greater loss of ener
gy.

Extensional viscosity can be measured with variousrheometers that apply extensional stress.

Volume viscosity can be measured with anacoustic rheometer.

Apparent viscosity is a calculation derived from tests performed on drilling fluid used in oil or gas well development. These calculations and tests help engineers
develop and maintain the properties of the drilling fluid to the specifications required.

Units
The SI unit of dynamic viscosity is Pa·s or kg·m−1·s−1. The cgs unit is called the poise[26] (P), named after Jean Léonard Marie Poiseuille. It is commonly
expressed, particularly inASTM standards, as centipoise (cP) since the latter is equal to the SI multiple millipascal seconds (mPa·s).

The SI unit of kinematic viscosity is m2/s, whereas the cgs unit for kinematic viscosity is the stokes (St), named after Sir George Gabriel Stokes.[27] It is
sometimes expressed in terms ofcentistokes (cSt). In U.S. usage, stoke is sometimes used as the singular form.

The reciprocal of viscosity is fluidity, usually symbolized by or , depending on the convention used, measured in reciprocal poise (P−1, or
cm·s·g−1), sometimes called therhe. Fluidity is seldom used inengineering practice.

Nonstandard units include the reyn, a British unit of dynamic viscosity. In the automotive industry the viscosity index is used to describe the change of viscosity
with temperature.

At one time the petroleum industry relied on measuring kinematic viscosity by means of the Saybolt viscometer, and expressing kinematic viscosity in units of
Saybolt universal seconds (SUS).[28] Other abbreviations such as SSU (Saybolt seconds universal) or SUV (Saybolt universal viscosity) are sometimes used.
Kinematic viscosity in centistokes can be converted from SUS according to the arithmetic and the reference table providedASTM
in D 2161.[29]

Molecular origins
In general, the viscosity of a system depends in detail on how the molecules constituting the system interact. There are no simple but correct expressions for the
viscosity of a fluid. The simplest exact expressions are the Green–Kubo relations for the linear shear viscosity or the transient time correlation function
expressions derived by Evans and Morriss in 1985.[30] Although these expressions are each exact, calculating the viscosity of a dense fluid using these relations
currently requires the use of molecular dynamics computer simulations. On the other hand, much more progress can be made for a dilute gas. Even elementary
assumptions about how gas molecules move and interact lead to a basic understanding of the molecular origins of viscosity. More sophisticated treatments can be
constructed by systematically coarse-graining the equations of motion of the gas molecules. An example of such a treatment is Chapman–Enskog theory, which
derives expressions for the viscosity of a dilute gas from theBoltzmann equation.[31]

Momentum transport in gases is generally mediated by discrete molecular collisions, and in liquids by attractive forces which bind molecules close together.[32]
Because of this, the dynamic viscosities of liquids are typically much lar
ger than those of gases.

Gases

Elementary calculation of viscosity for a dilute gas

Consider a dilute gas moving parallel to the -axis with velocity that depends
only on the coordinate. To simplify the discussion, the gas is assumed to have
uniform temperature and density.

Under these assumptions, the velocity of a molecule passing through is

equal to whatever velocity that molecule had when its mean free path began.
Because is typically small compared with macroscopic scales, the average
velocity of such a molecule has the form

where is a numerical constant on the order of . (Some authors estimate

;[32][33] on the other hand, a more careful calculation for rigid elastic
spheres gives .) Now, because half the molecules on either side are
moving towards , and doing so on average with half the average moleculer
speed , the momentum flux from either side is

The net momentum flux at is the difference of the two:

According to the definition of viscosity, this momentum flux should be equal to

, which leads to
Viscosity in gases arises principally from the molecular diffusion that transports momentum between layers of flow. An elementary calculation for a dilute gas at
temperature and density gives

where is the Boltzmann constant, the molecular mass, and a numerical constant on the order of . The quantity , the mean free path, measures the
average distance a molecule travels between collisions. Even without a priori knowledge of , this expression has interesting implications. In particular, since
is typically inversely proportional to density and increases with temperature, itself should increase with temperature and be independent of density at fixed
temperature. In fact, both of these predictions persist in more sophisticated treatments, and accurately describe experimental observations. Note that this behavior
decreases with temperature.[32][33]
runs counter to common intuition regarding liquids, for which viscosity typically

For rigid elastic spheres of diameter , can be computed, giving

In this case is independent of temperature, so . For more complicated molecular models, however, depends on temperature in a non-trivial way,
and simple kinetic arguments as used here are inadequate. More fundamentally, the notion of a mean free path becomes imprecise for particles that interact over a
[34]
finite range, which limits the usefulness of the concept for describing real-world gases.

Chapman–Enskog theory
A technique developed by Sydney Chapman and David Enskog in the early 1900s allows a more refined calculation of .[31] It is based on the Boltzmann
equation, which provides a systematic statistical description of a dilute gas in terms of intermolecular interactions.[35] As such, their technique allows accurate
calculation of for more realistic molecular models, such as those incorporating intermolecular attraction rather than just hard-core repulsion.

It turns out that a more realistic modeling of interactions is essential for accurate prediction of the temperature dependence of , which experiments show
increases more rapidly than the trend predicted for rigid elastic spheres.[32] Indeed, the Chapman–Enskog analysis shows that the predicted temperature
dependence can be tuned by varying the parameters in various molecular models. A simple example is the Sutherland model,[36] which describes rigid elastic
spheres with weak mutual attraction. In such a case, the attractive force can be treatedperturbatively, which leads to a particularly simple expression for :

where is independent of temperature, being determined only by the parameters of the intermolecular attraction. To connect with experiment, it is convenient to
rewrite as

where is the viscosity at temperature . If is known from experiments at and at least one other temperature, then can be calculated. It turns out
that expressions for obtained in this way are accurate for a number of gases over a sizable range of temperatures. On the other hand, Chapman and Cowling[31]
argue that this success does not imply that molecules actually interact according to the Sutherland model. Rather, they interpret the prediction for as a simple
interpolation which is valid for some gases over fixed ranges of temperature, but otherwise does not provide a picture of intermolecular interactions which is
fundamentally correct and general. Slightly more sophisticated models, such as the Lennard–Jones potential, may provide a better picture, but only at the cost of
a more opaque dependence on temperature. In some systems the assumption of spherical symmetry must be abandoned as well, as is the case for vapors with
highly polar molecules like H2O.[37][38]

Liquids
In contrast with gases, there is no simple yet accurate picture for the molecular origins of viscosity in liquids.

At the simplest level of description, the relative motion of adjacent layers in a liquid is opposed primarily by attractive molecular forces acting across the layer
boundary. In this picture, one (correctly) expects viscosity to decrease with increasing temperature. This is because increasing temperature increases the random
[39]
thermal motion of the molecules, which makes it easier for them to overcome their attractive interactions.
Building on this visualization, a simple theory can be constructed in analogy with the discrete structure of a
solid: groups of molecules in a liquid are visualized as forming "cages" which surround and enclose single
molecules.[40] These cages can be occupied or unoccupied, and stronger molecular attraction corresponds to
stronger cages. Due to random thermal motion, a molecule "hops" between cages at a rate which varies inversely
with the strength of molecular attractions. In equilibrium these "hops" are not biased in any direction. On the
other hand, in order for two adjacent layers to move relative to each other, the "hops" must be biased in the
direction of the relative motion. The force required to sustain this directed motion can be estimated for a given
shear rate, leading to

Play media
Video showing three liquids with
different viscosities

Play media
Experiment showing the behavior of
a viscous fluid with blue dye for
visibility

(1)

where is the Avogadro constant, is the Planck constant, is the volume of a mole of liquid, and is the normal boiling point. This result has the same
form as the widespread and accurate empirical relation

(2)

where and are constants fit from data.[40][41] One the other hand, several authors express caution with respect to this model. Errors as large as 30% can be
encountered using equation (1), compared with fitting equation (2) to experimental data.[40] More fundamentally, the physical assumptions underlying equation
(1) have been extensively criticized.[42] It has also been argued that the exponential dependence in equation (1) does not necessarily describe experimental
observations more accurately than simpler, non-exponential expressions.[43][44]

In light of these shortcomings, the development of a less ad-hoc model is a matter of practical interest. Foregoing simplicity in favor of precision, it is possible to
write rigorous expressions for viscosity starting from the fundamental equations of motion for molecules. A classic example of this approach is Irving-Kirkwood
theory.[45] On the other hand, such expressions are given as averages over multiparticle
correlation functions and are therefore difficult to apply in practice.

In general, empirically derived expressions (based on existing viscosity measurements) appear to be the only consistently reliable means of calculating viscosity
in liquids.[46]

Mixtures, blends, and suspensions

Gaseous mixtures
The same molecular-kinetic picture of a single component gas can also be applied to a gaseous mixture. For instance, in the Chapman-Enskog approach the
viscosity of a binary mixture of gases can be written in terms of the individual component viscosities , their respective volume fractions, and the
intermolecular interactions.[47] As for the single-component gas, the dependence of on the parameters of the intermolecular interactions enters through
various collisional integrals which may not be expressible in terms of elementary functions. To obtain usable expressions for which reasonably match
experimental data, the collisional integrals typically must be evaluated using some combination of analytic calculation and empirical fitting. An example of such
a procedure is the Sutherland approach for the single-component gas, discussed above.

Blends of liquids
As for pure liquids, the viscosity of a blend of liquids is difficult to predict from molecular principles. One method is to extend the molecular "cage" theory
presented above for a pure liquid. This can be done with varying levels of sophistication. One useful expression resulting from such an analysis is the Lederer-
Roegiers equation for a binary mixture:

where is an empirical parameter, and and are the respective mole fractions and viscosities of the component liquids.[48]

Since blending is an important process in the lubricating and oil industries, a variety of empirical and propriety equations exist for predicting the viscosity of a
.[48]
blend, besides those stemming directly from molecular theory

Suspensions
In a suspension of solid particles (e.g. micron-size spheres suspended in oil), an effective viscosity can be defined in terms of stress and strain components
[49] Such
which are averaged over a volume large compared with the distance between the suspended particles, but small with respect to macroscopic dimensions.
suspensions generally exhibit non-Newtonian behavior. However, for dilute systems in steady flows, the behavior is Newtonian and expressions for can be
derived directly from the particle dynamics. In a very dilute system, with volume fraction , interactions between the suspended particles can be ignored.
In such a case one can explicitly calculate the flow field around each particle independently, and combine the results to obtain . For spheres, this results in the
Einstein equation:

where is the viscosity of the suspending liquid. The linear dependence on is a direct consequence of neglecting interparticle interactions; in general, one
will have:

where the coefficient may depend on the particle shape (e.g. spheres, rods, disks).[50] Perhaps surprisingly, in the century since its introduction the coefficient
for spheres, , has not been conclusively pinned down by experiments, with various experiments finding values in the range .[51] This
deficiency has been attributed to difficulty in controlling experimental conditions.[52]

In denser suspensions, acquires a nonlinear dependence on , which indicates the importance of interparticle interactions. Various analytical and semi-
empirical schemes exist for capturing this regime. At the most basic level, a term quadratic in is added to :

and the coefficient is fit from experimental data or approximated from the microscopic theory. In general, however, one should be cautious in applying such
simple formulas since non-Newtonian behavior appears in dense suspensions ( for spheres),[51] or in suspensions of elongated or flexible particles.
[53]

A distinction must be made between a suspension of solid particles, described above, and an emulsion. The latter is a suspension of tiny droplets, which
themselves may exhibit internal circulation. The presence of internal circulation can noticeably decrease the observed effective viscosity, and different theoretical
or semi-empirical models must be used.[54]

Amorphous materials
In the high and low temperature limits, viscous flow inamorphous materials (e.g. in glasses and melts)[56][57][58] has the Arrhenius form:

where Q is a relevant activation energy, given in terms of molecular parameters; T is temperature; R is the molar gas constant; and A is approximately a
constant. The activation energy Q takes a different value depending on whether the high or low temperature limit is being considered: it changes from a high
value QH at low temperatures (in the glassy state) to a low valueQL at high temperatures (in the liquid state).

For intermediate temperatures, varies nontrivially with temperature and the simple Arrhenius form fails. On the other hand, the two-exponential equation
where , , , are all constants, provides a good fit to experimental data over the entire
range of temperatures, while at the same time reducing to the correct Arrhenius form in the low
and high temperature limits. Besides being a convenient fit to data, the expression can also be
[58]
derived from various theoretical models of amorphous materials at the atomic level.

Eddy viscosity
In the study of turbulence in fluids, a common practical strategy for calculation is to ignore the
small-scale vortices (or eddies) in the motion and to calculate a large-scale motion with an eddy
viscosity that characterizes the transport and dissipation of energy in the smaller-scale flow (see
large eddy simulation).[59][60] Values of eddy viscosity used in modeling ocean circulation may
Common glass viscosity curves[55]
be from 5 × 104 to 1 × 106 Pa·s depending upon the resolution of the numerical grid.

Selected substances
Observed values of viscosity vary over several orders of magnitude, even for common substances. For instance,
, and 26000 times that of air.[62] More
a 70% sucrose (sugar) solution has a viscosity over 400 times that of water
.[61]
dramatically, pitch has been estimated to have a viscosity 230 billion times that of water

Water
The viscosity of water is about 0.89 mPa·s at room temperature (25 °C). As a function of temperature, the Common logarithm of viscosity
viscosity can be estimated using the semi-empirical relation: against temperature forB2O3,
showing two regimes

where A = 2.414 × 10−5 Pa·s, B = 247.8 K, and C = 140 K.

Experimentally determined values of the viscosity at various temperatures are given below
.

Viscosity of water
at various temperatures[62]
Temperature (°C) Viscosity (mPa·s)
10 1.3059
20 1.0016
30 0.79722
50 0.54652
70 0.40355
In the University of
90 0.31417 Queensland pitch drop
experiment, pitch has been
dripping slowly through a
Air funnel since 1927, at a rate
of one drop roughly every
Under standard atmospheric conditions (25 °C and pressure of 1 bar), the viscosity of air is 18.5 μPa·s, roughly 50 times decade. In this way the
smaller than the viscosity of water at the same temperature. Except at very high pressure, the viscosity of air depends viscosity of pitch has been
mostly on the temperature. determined to be
approximately 230 billion
(2.3 × 1011) times that of
Other common substances water.[61]

Substance Viscosity (mPa·s) Temperature (°C)

Whole milk[63] 2.12 20

Olive oil[63] 56.2 26

Honey[64] 2000-10000 20

Ketchup[a][65] 5000-20000 25

Peanut butter[a][66] 104-106

Pitch[61] 2.3 × 1011 10-30 (variable)

a. These materials are highlynon-Newtonian.

See also
Dashpot
Deborah number
Dilatant
Herschel–Bulkley fluid
Hyperviscosity syndrome
Intrinsic viscosity
Inviscid flow
Joback method (estimation of liquid viscosity from molecular structure)
Kaye effect
Microviscosity
Morton number
Quasi-solid
Rheology Honey being drizzled
Stokes flow
Superfluid helium-4
Viscoplasticity
Viscosity models for mixtures

References
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3. Balescu, Radu (1975), Equilibrium and Nonequilibrium Statistical Mechanics
, John Wiley & Sons, pp. 428–429,ISBN 978-0-471-04600-4
4. "viscous" (http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=viscous). Etymonline.com. Retrieved 2010-09-14.
5. Jan Mewis; Norman J. Wagner (2012). Colloidal Suspension Rheology(https://books.google.com/books?id=Et6kZGtdiFsC&pg=PR4)
.
Cambridge University Press. p. 19.ISBN 978-0-521-51599-3.
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9. Nič, Miloslav; Jirát, Jiří; Košata, Bedřich; Jenkins, Aubrey
, eds. (1997). "dynamic viscosity, η". IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology.
Oxford: Blackwell Scientific Publications.doi:10.1351/goldbook (https://doi.org/10.1351%2Fgoldbook). ISBN 978-0-9678550-9-7.
10. Bird, R. Byron; Stewart, Warren E.; Lightfoot, Edwin N. (2007), Transport Phenomena (2nd ed.), John Wiley & Sons, Inc., p. 19,ISBN 978-0-
470-11539-8
11. Landau, L.D.; Lifshitz, E.M. (1987),Fluid Mechanics (2nd ed.), Pergamon Press, pp. 44–45,ISBN 0-08-033933-6
12. Bird, Steward, & Lightfoot, p. 18 (Note that this source uses a alternate sign convention, which has been reversed here.)
13. Bird, Steward, & Lightfoot, p. 19
14. Landau & Lifshitz p. 45
15. Bird, R. Byron; Stewart, Warren E.; Lightfoot, Edwin N. (2007), Transport Phenomena (2nd ed.), John Wiley & Sons, Inc.,ISBN 978-0-470-
11539-8
16. Daniel V. Schroeder (1999). An Introduction to Thermal Physics(https://books.google.com/books?id=1gosQgAACAAJ)
. Addison Wesley.
ISBN 978-0-201-38027-9.
17. "Archived copy" (https://web.archive.org/web/20081202014136/http://web.mst.edu/~wlf/mechanical/T
routon.html). Archived from the original
(http://web.mst.edu/~wlf/Mechanical/Trouton.html) on 2008-12-02. Retrieved 2009-10-12.
18. http://web.mit.edu/nnf/research/ere/ere.html
19. Jan Mewis; Norman J. Wagner (2012). Colloidal Suspension Rheology(https://books.google.com/books?id=Et6kZGtdiFsC&pg=PR4)
.
Cambridge University Press. pp. 228–230.ISBN 978-0-521-51599-3.
20. Kumagai, Naoichi; Sasajima, Sadao; Ito, Hidebumi (15 February 1978). "Long-term Creep of Rocks: Results with Large Specimens Obtained
in about 20 Years and Those with Small Specimens in about 3 Years" (https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ja&u=http://ci.nii.ac.jp/
naid/110002299397/&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=4&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3DIto%2BHidebumi%26hl%3Den) . Journal of the
Society of Materials Science (Japan). 27 (293): 157–161. Retrieved 2008-06-16.
21. Elert, Glenn. "Viscosity" (http://physics.info/viscosity/). The Physics Hypertextbook.
22. Gibbs, Philip. "Is Glass a Liquid or a Solid?"(http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/General/Glass/glass.html). Retrieved 2007-07-31.
23. Plumb, Robert C. (1989)."Antique windowpanes and the flow of supercooled liquids"(http://dwb.unl.edu/Teacher/NSF/C01/C01Links/www.ual
berta.ca/~bderksen/windowpane.html). Journal of Chemical Education. 66 (12): 994. Bibcode:1989JChEd..66..994P (http://adsabs.harvard.ed
u/abs/1989JChEd..66..994P). doi:10.1021/ed066p994 (https://doi.org/10.1021%2Fed066p994).
24. Scherer, George W.; Pardenek, Sandra A.; Swiatek, Rose M. (1988). "V
iscoelasticity in silica gel".Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids. 107 (1):
14. Bibcode:1988JNCS..107...14S (http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1988JNCS..107...14S) . doi:10.1016/0022-3093(88)90086-5(https://doi.org/
10.1016%2F0022-3093%2888%2990086-5).
25. "Viscosity" (http://www.byk.com/fileadmin/BYK/downloads/support-downloads/instruments/theory/physical-properties/en/Intro_V
iscosity.pdf)
(PDF). BYK-Gardner.
26. "IUPAC definition of the Poise"(http://goldbook.iupac.org/goldbook/P04705.html#search=%22poise%20iupac%22)
. Retrieved 2010-09-14.
27. Gyllenbok, Jan (2018). "Encyclopaedia of Historical Metrology
, Weights, and Measures".Encyclopaedia of Historical Metrology, Weights, and
Measures, Volume 1. Birkhäuser. p. 213. ISBN 9783319575988.
28. ASTM D 2161 (2005) "Standard Practice for Conversion of Kinematic iscosity
V to Saybolt Universal Viscosity or to Saybolt Furol Viscosity", p.
1
29. "Quantities and Units of Viscosity" (http://www.uniteasy.com/en/unitguide/Viscosity.htm). Uniteasy.com. Retrieved 2010-09-14.
30. Evans, Denis J.; Morriss, Gary P. (October 15, 1988). "Transient-time-correlation functions and the rheology of fluids".Physical Review A. 38
(8): 4142–4148. Bibcode:1988PhRvA..38.4142E(http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1988PhRvA..38.4142E) . doi:10.1103/PhysRevA.38.4142(htt
ps://doi.org/10.1103%2FPhysRevA.38.4142). PMID 9900865 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9900865).
31. Chapman, Sydney; Cowling, T.G. (1970), The Mathematical Theory of Non-Uniform Gases(3rd ed.), Cambridge University Press
32. Bird, R. Byron; Stewart, Warren E.; Lightfoot, Edwin N. (2007), Transport Phenomena (2nd ed.), John Wiley & Sons, Inc.,ISBN 978-0-470-
11539-8
33. Bellac, Michael; Mortessagne, Fabrice; Batrouni, G. George (2004),Equilibrium and Non-Equilibrium Statistical Thermodynamics
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University Press, ISBN 978-0-521-82143-8
34. Chapman & Cowling, p. 103
35. Cercignani, Carlo (1975),Theory and Application of the Boltzmann Equation
, Elsevier, ISBN 978-0-444-19450-3
36. The discussion which follows draws from Chapman & Cowling, pp. 232-237.
37. Bird, Steward, & Lightfoot, p. 25-27
38. Chapman & Cowling, pp. 235 - 237
39. Reid, Robert C.; Sherwood, Thomas K. (1958),The Properties of Gases and Liquids, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., p. 202
40. Bird, Steward, & Lightfoot, pp. 29-31
41. Reid & Sherwood, pp. 203-204
42. Hildebrand, Joel Henry(1977), Viscosity and Diffusivity: A Predictive Treatment, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.,ISBN 0-471-03072-4
43. Hildebrand p. 37
44. Egelstaff, P.A. (1992), An Introduction to the Liquid State(2nd ed.), Oxford University Press, p. 264,ISBN 0-19-851012-8
45. Irving, J.H.; Kirkwood, John G. (1949),"The Statistical Mechanical Theory of Transport Processes. IV. The Equations of Hydrodynamics"(http
s://aip.scitation.org/doi/10.1063/1.1747782), J. Chem. Phys., 18 (6)
46. Reid & Sherwood, pp. 206-209
47. Chapman & Cowling (1970)
48. Zhmud, Boris (2014), "Viscosity Blending Equations"(http://www.lube-media.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Lube-Tech093-ViscosityBlendi
ngEquations.pdf) (PDF), Lube-Tech, 93
49. Bird, Steward, & Lightfoot pp. 31-33
50. Bird, Steward, & Lightfoot p. 32
51. Mueller, S.; Llewellin, E. W.; Mader, H. M. (2009). "The rheology of suspensions of solid particles".Proceedings of the Royal Society A:
Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences . 466 (2116): 1201–1228. doi:10.1098/rspa.2009.0445(https://doi.org/10.1098%2Frspa.200
9.0445). ISSN 1364-5021 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/1364-5021).
52. ibid, pp. 1202-1203
53. Bird, Steward, & Lightfoot pp. 31-33
54. Bird, Steward, & Lightfoot p. 33
55. Fluegel, Alexander. "Viscosity calculation of glasses"(http://www.glassproperties.com/viscosity/). Glassproperties.com. Retrieved 2010-09-14.
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Further reading

Undergraduate-level texts
Bird, R. Byron; Stewart, Warren E.; Lightfoot, Edwin N. (2007), Transport Phenomena (2nd ed.), John Wiley & Sons, Inc.,ISBN 978-0-470-
11539-8

Graduate-level texts

Classic references

Landau, L.D.; Lifshitz, E.M. (1987),Fluid Mechanics (2nd ed.), Pergamon Press,ISBN 0-08-033933-6

Balescu, Radu (1975), Equilibrium and Nonequilibrium Statistical Mechanics

, John Wiley & Sons, ISBN 978-0-471-04600-4

Chapman, Sydney; Cowling, T.G. (1970), The Mathematical Theory of Non-Uniform Gases(3rd ed.), Cambridge University Press

Complex fluids and non-Newtonian behavior

Jan Mewis; Norman J. Wagner (2012). Colloidal Suspension Rheology. Cambridge University Press.ISBN 978-0-521-51599-3.

Bird, R. Bryon; Armstrong, Robert C.; Hassager

, Ole (1987), Dynamics of Polymeric Liquids, Volume 1: Fluid Mechanics (2nd ed.), John Wiley
& Sons

External links
Fluid properties - high accuracy calculation of viscosity for frequently encountered pure liquids and gases
Gas viscosity calculator as function of temperature
Air viscosity calculator as function of temperature and pressure
Fluid Characteristics Chart- a table of viscosities and vapor pressures for various fluids
Gas Dynamics Toolbox - calculate coefficient of viscosity for mixtures of gases
Glass Viscosity Measurement - viscosity measurement, viscosity units and fixpoints, glass viscosity calculation
Kinematic Viscosity - conversion between kinematic and dynamic viscosity
Physical Characteristics of Water - a table of water viscosity as a function of temperature
Vogel–Tammann–Fulcher Equation Parameters
Calculation of temperature-dependent dynamic viscosities for some common components
"Test Procedures for Testing Highway and Nonroad Engines and Omnibus eTchnical Amendments"- United States Environmental Protection
Agency
Artificial viscosity
Viscosity of Air, Dynamic and Kinematic, Engineers Edge

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