Convert dynamic viscosity units — Pascal-second, Poise, centipoise, lb/(ft·s) and more.
| Unit | Name | Value |
|---|---|---|
| P | Poise | 10 |
| cP | Centipoise | 1000 |
| lb/(ft·s) | Pound/(Foot·Second) | 0.67197076 |
| kg/(m·s) | Kilogram/(Meter·Second) | 1 |
| mPa·s | Millipascal-second | 1000 |
Formula: kg/(m·s) = Pascal-second × 1
Multiply any Pascal-second value by 1 to get kg/(m·s).
Reverse: Pascal-second = kg/(m·s) × 1
Water reference (20°C): 0.001002 Pa·s = 0.001002 kg/(m·s)
Values at ~20°C unless noted. Factor: 1 Pa·s = 1 kg/(m·s)
| Pascal-second (Pa·s) | kg/(m·s) (kg/(m·s)) | Fluid |
|---|---|---|
| 1.800e-05 Pa·s | 1.800e-05 kg/(m·s) | Air (20°C) |
| 0.001002 Pa·s | 0.001002 kg/(m·s) | Water (20°C) |
| 0.0012 Pa·s | 0.0012 kg/(m·s) | Ethanol |
| 0.0035 Pa·s | 0.0035 kg/(m·s) | Blood (37°C) |
| 0.065 Pa·s | 0.065 kg/(m·s) | SAE 10W motor oil |
| 0.084 Pa·s | 0.084 kg/(m·s) | Olive oil |
| 0.2 Pa·s | 0.2 kg/(m·s) | Maple syrup |
| 0.3 Pa·s | 0.3 kg/(m·s) | SAE 30 motor oil |
| 5 Pa·s | 5 kg/(m·s) | Honey |
| 50 Pa·s | 50 kg/(m·s) | Ketchup |
| 100 Pa·s | 100 kg/(m·s) | Molten glass (700°C) |
| 250 Pa·s | 250 kg/(m·s) | Peanut butter |
| 3e+04 Pa·s | 3e+04 kg/(m·s) | Tar (room temp) |
| 2.3e+08 Pa·s | 2.3e+08 kg/(m·s) | Pitch (20°C) |
Pa·s = kg/(m·s). They are the same unit.
1 Pa·s = 1 N·s/m² = 1 kg/(m·s). No calculation needed.
Pa·s emphasizes pressure; kg/(m·s) makes dimensional analysis explicit.
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 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.
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.
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 Pa·s = 1 kg/(m·s). Reverse: 1 kg/(m·s) = 1 Pa·s.
All conversions use IEEE 754 double-precision arithmetic, accurate to at least 8 significant figures.