Convert dynamic viscosity units — Pascal-second, Poise, centipoise, lb/(ft·s) and more.
| Unit | Name | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Pa·s | Pascal-second | 0.1 |
| cP | Centipoise | 100 |
| lb/(ft·s) | Pound/(Foot·Second) | 0.067197076 |
| kg/(m·s) | Kilogram/(Meter·Second) | 0.1 |
| mPa·s | Millipascal-second | 100 |
Formula: Pascal-second = Poise × 0.1
Multiply any Poise value by 0.1 to get Pascal-second.
Reverse: Poise = Pascal-second × 10
Water reference (20°C): 0.01002 P = 0.001002 Pa·s
Values at ~20°C unless noted. Factor: 1 P = 0.1 Pa·s
| Poise (P) | Pascal-second (Pa·s) | Fluid |
|---|---|---|
| 0.00018 P | 1.800e-05 Pa·s | Air (20°C) |
| 0.01002 P | 0.001002 Pa·s | Water (20°C) |
| 0.012 P | 0.0012 Pa·s | Ethanol |
| 0.035 P | 0.0035 Pa·s | Blood (37°C) |
| 0.65 P | 0.065 Pa·s | SAE 10W motor oil |
| 0.84 P | 0.084 Pa·s | Olive oil |
| 2 P | 0.2 Pa·s | Maple syrup |
| 3 P | 0.3 Pa·s | SAE 30 motor oil |
| 50 P | 5 Pa·s | Honey |
| 500 P | 50 Pa·s | Ketchup |
| 1000 P | 100 Pa·s | Molten glass (700°C) |
| 2500 P | 250 Pa·s | Peanut butter |
| 3e+05 P | 3e+04 Pa·s | Tar (room temp) |
| 2.300e+09 P | 2.3e+08 Pa·s | Pitch (20°C) |
Poise ÷ 10 = Pa·s.
1 P = 0.1 Pa·s. 10 P = 1 Pa·s.
Pa·s × 10 = Poise.
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.
The Poise (P) is the CGS unit of dynamic viscosity, equal to 1 dyne·s/cm² = 0.1 Pa·s. It was named after Jean Louis Marie Poiseuille, the French physician who first quantified viscous flow through tubes (1838–1840), establishing what became Poiseuille's law of flow.
The Poise was the standard viscosity unit before SI adoption. Water at 20°C = 0.01002 P ≈ 0.01 P = 1 cP. The centipoise became preferred because it gives water a value of ~1, making comparisons intuitive. Many older fluid data tables use Poise.
Interesting fact: Poiseuille was a physician, not a physicist, and he developed his viscosity measurements to understand blood flow through capillaries. His 1838 paper on capillary flow remains the foundation of microfluidics and cardiovascular fluid dynamics.
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 P = 0.1 Pa·s. Reverse: 1 Pa·s = 10 P.
All conversions use IEEE 754 double-precision arithmetic, accurate to at least 8 significant figures.