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Viscosity

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39 views1 page

Viscosity

Uploaded by

Ashraf
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Viscosity

What  is  viscosity?  

Some  liquids  flow  more  easily  than  others  do.    For  example,  honey  is  very  “thick”  and  flows  very  slowly.    
Water  is  very  “thin”  and  flows  very  quickly.    One  is  more  viscous  than  the  other  is.  

Viscosity  is  a  term  used  to  describe  resistance  to  flow  at  a  particular  temperature.  A  liquid  with  a  high  
internal  resistance  to  flow  is  described  as  having  a  high  viscosity  (such  as  honey  at  room  temperature).    
A  liquid  with  a  low  internal  resistance  to  flow  is  described  as  having  a  low  viscosity  (such  as  water  at  
room  temperature).    The  internal  resistance  being  referred  to  is  related  to  the  ability  for  molecules  to  
rearrange  and  move  past  each  other.    This  rearrangement  is  necessary  for  flow.    Liquids  make  up  of  
small  molecules  have  a  low  viscosity,  and  liquids  with  long  chain  molecules  (such  as  plastics)  have  a  
much  higher  viscosity.  

The  viscosity  of  materials  generally  decreases  with  increasing  temperature.    This  is  true  of  plastics.  
Plastics  also  generally  decrease  in  viscosity  with  increasing  shear.    Shear  is  created  when  twisting  or  
sliding  motion  is  imposed  on  a  material;  such  as  when  plastic  is  being  melted  in  extrusion  or  injection  
molding  by  the  rotation  of  the  screw  while  the  barrel  remains  stationary.    In  injection  molding,  shear  is  
also  created  as  plastic  moves  past  itself  and  the  walls  of  the  sprue,  runner  and  cavity  walls  during  
injection.    Faster  injection  promotes  a  lower  material  viscosity.  

Originally  published  in  World  News  1/29/1999.  

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