Convert dynamic viscosity units — Pascal-second, Poise, centipoise, lb/(ft·s) and more.
| Unit | Name | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Pa·s | Pascal-second | 1 |
| P | Poise | 10 |
| cP | Centipoise | 1000 |
| lb/(ft·s) | Pound/(Foot·Second) | 0.67197076 |
| mPa·s | Millipascal-second | 1000 |
Formula: Centipoise = kg/(m·s) × 1000
Multiply any kg/(m·s) value by 1000 to get Centipoise.
Reverse: kg/(m·s) = Centipoise × 0.001
Water reference (20°C): 0.001002 kg/(m·s) = 1.002 cP
Values at ~20°C unless noted. Factor: 1 kg/(m·s) = 1000 cP
| kg/(m·s) (kg/(m·s)) | Centipoise (cP) | Fluid |
|---|---|---|
| 1.800e-05 kg/(m·s) | 0.018 cP | Air (20°C) |
| 0.001002 kg/(m·s) | 1.002 cP | Water (20°C) |
| 0.0012 kg/(m·s) | 1.2 cP | Ethanol |
| 0.0035 kg/(m·s) | 3.5 cP | Blood (37°C) |
| 0.065 kg/(m·s) | 65 cP | SAE 10W motor oil |
| 0.084 kg/(m·s) | 84 cP | Olive oil |
| 0.2 kg/(m·s) | 200 cP | Maple syrup |
| 0.3 kg/(m·s) | 300 cP | SAE 30 motor oil |
| 5 kg/(m·s) | 5000 cP | Honey |
| 50 kg/(m·s) | 5e+04 cP | Ketchup |
| 100 kg/(m·s) | 1e+05 cP | Molten glass (700°C) |
| 250 kg/(m·s) | 2.5e+05 cP | Peanut butter |
| 3e+04 kg/(m·s) | 3e+07 cP | Tar (room temp) |
| 2.3e+08 kg/(m·s) | 2.300e+11 cP | Pitch (20°C) |
1 kg/(m·s) = 1000 cP.
Water at 20°C ≈ 1 cP = 1 mPa·s = 0.001 Pa·s = 0.01 P. Use as reference.
Multiply result by 0.001 to recover the original kg/(m·s) value.
Specifies oil viscosity in cP or mPa·s for formulation and quality control of lubricants.
Uses Pa·s and cP for pipeline flow calculations, pump design, and mixing operations.
Measures sauce, syrup, and dough viscosity in cP for texture optimization and process control.
Controls drug formulation viscosity in mPa·s for injectables, topical creams, and oral suspensions.
Specifies paint, ink, and adhesive viscosity in cP for application equipment compatibility.
Characterizes polymer melt viscosity in Pa·s for extrusion and injection molding process design.
Kilogram per meter per second (kg/(m·s)) is numerically identical to the pascal-second (Pa·s), since 1 Pa·s = 1 N·s/m² = 1 kg/(m·s). Both express the same physical quantity. Some older engineering texts prefer kg/(m·s) to make the dimensional analysis explicit.
kg/(m·s) appears in some fluid mechanics textbooks and engineering reference tables, particularly older European texts. The equivalence Pa·s = kg/(m·s) is exact — they are the same unit expressed with different dimensional notation.
Interesting fact: The equivalence Pa·s = kg/(m·s) can be derived dimensionally: Pa = kg/(m·s²), so Pa·s = kg/(m·s). This makes dynamic viscosity dimensionally the same as linear momentum density — an elegant connection in continuum mechanics.
The centipoise (cP) equals 0.01 Poise = 0.001 Pa·s = 1 mPa·s. It is the dominant dynamic viscosity unit in industry because water at 20°C ≈ 1.002 cP — making it the most intuitive reference. The cP is numerically identical to mPa·s.
cP is used universally in lubricant specifications, food processing, pharmaceutical manufacturing, coating technology, and chemical engineering. Ink viscosity: 10–50 cP; blood: 3–4 cP; olive oil: 80–84 cP; maple syrup: 150–300 cP; honey: 2,000–10,000 cP.
Interesting fact: The viscosity of blood (3–4 cP) being about 3–4× that of water is critical to cardiovascular physiology. Conditions like polycythemia (excess red blood cells) can raise blood viscosity to 8–10 cP, significantly increasing the workload on the heart.
Dynamic viscosity measures a fluid's resistance to flow. The SI unit is Pa·s (= kg/(m·s)); cP and mPa·s are numerically identical and most widely used; P (Poise) is the CGS unit. Key anchor: water at 20°C ≈ 1 cP = 1 mPa·s = 0.001 Pa·s = 0.01 P.
Exact factor: 1 kg/(m·s) = 1000 cP. Reverse: 1 cP = 0.001 kg/(m·s).
All conversions use IEEE 754 double-precision arithmetic, accurate to at least 8 significant figures.