At first glance, viscosity seems like a fairly simple concept. It helps describe how thick a product is, or how well it flows. That's all, right?

In reality, there are several different terms that come under the heading of viscosity. These terms are derived from how the viscosity is measured. When people talk about viscosity, they are talking about one of two things: kinematic viscosity or dynamic viscosity.

It's not easy to find a lot of information on the differences between dynamic and kinematic viscosity. This is my attempt to bring clarity to these two principal concepts.

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Topics: Newtonian Fluid, Viscometers, Viscosity, Consistency, Kinematic Viscosity, Dynamic Viscosity, rotational viscometer, Liquid Properties, density, Texture Analysis, gel time

When people hear of viscosity for the first time, invariably they ask these three questions:

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Topics: Newtonian Fluid, Measure Viscosity, Viscometers, Viscosity, Viscosity in Food

Shear Stress - Shear Rate

Viscosity! If you ever think about it, what do you see?

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Topics: Newtonian Fluid, Viscometers, Dynamic Viscosity, viscometer, rotational viscometer, Viscosity Stress, Viscosity Shear Rate, Non Newtonian

 

The answer, like most answers in the crazy measurement world, is, “it depends”. To find out what it depends on, we'll start with defining viscosity.

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Topics: "Ask Art", Newtonian Fluid, Measure Viscosity, Viscometers, Viscosity

I used to think that liquids were pretty simple things. Is that what you think too?

Not so fast. Let’s take a look at three properties of liquids and see if we change our view.

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Topics: Newtonian Fluid, Viscometers, Viscosity, Bostwick Consistometer, Consistency, duNouy Rings, Surface Tension Measurement, Surface Tension, Liquid Properties

 

Not Much of a Science Person Learns About Viscosity

Since I joined CSC Scientific in July 2013, I’ve been on a steep learning curve. You see, I’ve never been much of a science person. There was even one particular chemistry class in high school used to give me migraine headaches - routinely. 

Having no real background in the sciences means that I’ve had a lot to learn since I joined a company that sells scientific testing equipment. Maybe you’re nodding in sympathy with me right now. Many of our clients – that is, the people doing the purchasing on behalf of their company – are not scientists and don’t have a thorough knowledge of the scientific principles behind the products they’re told to buy.

 

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Topics: Newtonian Fluid, "The Basics", Viscometers, Viscosity