Convert dynamic viscosity units — Pascal-second, Poise, centipoise, lb/(ft·s) and more.
| Unit | Name | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Pa·s | Pascal-second | 1.48816 |
| P | Poise | 14.8816 |
| cP | Centipoise | 1488.16 |
| kg/(m·s) | Kilogram/(Meter·Second) | 1.48816 |
| mPa·s | Millipascal-second | 1488.16 |
Formula: Pascal-second = lb/(ft·s) × 1.488
Multiply any lb/(ft·s) value by 1.488 to get Pascal-second.
Reverse: lb/(ft·s) = Pascal-second × 0.672
Water reference (20°C): 0.0006733 lb/(ft·s) = 0.001002 Pa·s
Values at ~20°C unless noted. Factor: 1 lb/(ft·s) = 1.488 Pa·s
| lb/(ft·s) (lb/(ft·s)) | Pascal-second (Pa·s) | Fluid |
|---|---|---|
| 1.210e-05 lb/(ft·s) | 1.800e-05 Pa·s | Air (20°C) |
| 0.0006733 lb/(ft·s) | 0.001002 Pa·s | Water (20°C) |
| 0.0008064 lb/(ft·s) | 0.0012 Pa·s | Ethanol |
| 0.002352 lb/(ft·s) | 0.0035 Pa·s | Blood (37°C) |
| 0.04368 lb/(ft·s) | 0.065 Pa·s | SAE 10W motor oil |
| 0.05645 lb/(ft·s) | 0.084 Pa·s | Olive oil |
| 0.1344 lb/(ft·s) | 0.2 Pa·s | Maple syrup |
| 0.2016 lb/(ft·s) | 0.3 Pa·s | SAE 30 motor oil |
| 3.36 lb/(ft·s) | 5 Pa·s | Honey |
| 33.6 lb/(ft·s) | 50 Pa·s | Ketchup |
| 67.2 lb/(ft·s) | 100 Pa·s | Molten glass (700°C) |
| 168 lb/(ft·s) | 250 Pa·s | Peanut butter |
| 2.016e+04 lb/(ft·s) | 3e+04 Pa·s | Tar (room temp) |
| 1.546e+08 lb/(ft·s) | 2.3e+08 Pa·s | Pitch (20°C) |
1 lb/(ft·s) = 1.488 Pa·s.
Water at 20°C ≈ 1 cP = 1 mPa·s = 0.001 Pa·s = 0.01 P. Use as reference.
Multiply result by 0.672 to recover the original lb/(ft·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.
Pound per foot per second (lb/(ft·s)) is the Imperial dynamic viscosity unit, equal to 1.48816 Pa·s. It is rarely used in modern practice but appears in older US engineering handbooks and some aerospace fluid specifications in the foot-pound-second system.
Water at 20°C ≈ 0.000672 lb/(ft·s). Air at 20°C ≈ 1.21×10⁻⁵ lb/(ft·s). The poundal-second per square foot (pdl·s/ft²) is sometimes confused with lb/(ft·s) — they differ by a factor of 32.174 (g). Most US engineering now uses cP even in Imperial contexts.
Interesting fact: Viscosity in Imperial units involves multiple conventions that confuse even experienced engineers. The slug/(ft·s) = 47.88 Pa·s is the viscosity unit consistent with pound-force; lb/(ft·s) uses pound-mass. These give numerically different values for the same fluid.
The pascal-second (Pa·s) is the SI unit of dynamic viscosity, defined as the force per unit area (Pa) times time (s). It equals 1 N·s/m² = 1 kg/(m·s) = 10 Poise. The unit was formalized with the SI system in 1960 and replaced the Poise as the standard.
Pa·s values: water at 20°C = 0.001 Pa·s; honey ≈ 2–10 Pa·s; peanut butter ≈ 250 Pa·s; molten glass ≈ 10,000 Pa·s; pitch (room temperature) ≈ 100 billion Pa·s. In the Pa·s system, water is conveniently close to 0.001 Pa·s = 1 mPa·s = 1 cP.
Interesting fact: The famous pitch drop experiment at the University of Queensland has been running since 1927. Pitch (a form of bitumen) has a viscosity of about 100 billion Pa·s — it drops at a rate of approximately one drop per decade, with only 9 drops having fallen in nearly 100 years.
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 lb/(ft·s) = 1.488 Pa·s. Reverse: 1 Pa·s = 0.672 lb/(ft·s).
All conversions use IEEE 754 double-precision arithmetic, accurate to at least 8 significant figures.