List of viscosities

Dynamic viscosity is a material property which describes the resistance of a fluid to shearing flows. It corresponds roughly to the intuitive notion of a fluid's 'thickness'. For instance, honey has a much higher viscosity than water. Viscosity is measured using a viscometer. Measured values span several orders of magnitude. Of all fluids, gases have the lowest viscosities, and thick liquids have the highest.

The values listed in this article are representative estimates only, as they do not account for measurement uncertainties, variability in material definitions, or non-Newtonian behavior.

Kinematic viscosity is dynamic viscosity divided by fluid density. This page lists only dynamic viscosity.

Units and conversion factors

For dynamic viscosity, the SI unit is Pascal-second. In engineering, the unit is usually Poise or centiPoise, with 1 Poise = 0.1 Pascal-second, and 1 centiPoise = 0.01 Poise.

For kinematic viscosity, the SI unit is m^2/s. In engineering, the unit is usually Stoke or centiStoke, with 1 Stoke = 0.0001 m^2/s, and 1 centiStoke = 0.01 Stoke.

For liquid, the dynamic viscosity is usually in the range of 0.001 to 1 Pascal-second, or 1 to 1000 centiPoise. The density is usually on the order of 1000 kg/m^3, i.e. that of water. Consequently, if a liquid has dynamic viscosity of n centiPoise, and its density is not too different from that of water, then its kinematic viscosity is around n centiStokes.

For gas, the dynamic viscosity is usually in the range of 10 to 20 microPascal-seconds, or 0.01 to 0.02 centiPoise. The density is usually on the order of 0.5 to 5 kg/m^3. Consequently, its kinematic viscosity is around 2 to 40 centiStokes.

Viscosities at or near standard conditions

Here "standard conditions" refers to temperatures of 25 °C and pressures of 1 atmosphere. Where data points are unavailable for 25 °C or 1 atmosphere, values are given at a nearby temperature/pressure.

The temperatures corresponding to each data point are stated explicitly. By contrast, pressure is omitted since gaseous viscosity depends only weakly on it.

Gases

Noble gases

The simple structure of noble gas molecules makes them amenable to accurate theoretical treatment. For this reason, measured viscosities of the noble gases serve as important tests of the kinetic-molecular theory of transport processes in gases (see Chapman–Enskog theory). One of the key predictions of the theory is the following relationship between viscosity ${\displaystyle \mu }$, thermal conductivity ${\displaystyle k}$, and specific heat ${\displaystyle c_{v}}$:

${\displaystyle k=f\mu c_{v}}$

where ${\displaystyle f}$ is a constant which in general depends on the details of intermolecular interactions, but for spherically symmetric molecules is very close to ${\displaystyle 2.5}$.^[1]

This prediction is reasonably well-verified by experiments, as the following table shows. Indeed, the relation provides a viable means for obtaining thermal conductivities of gases since these are more difficult to measure directly than viscosity.^[1][2]

Substance	Molecular formula	Viscosity (μPa·s)	Thermal conductivity (W m−1K−1)	Specific heat (J K−1kg−1)	${\displaystyle f\equiv k/(\mu c_{v})}$	Notes	Refs.
Helium	He	19.85	0.153	3116	2.47		[2][3]
Neon	Ne	31.75	0.0492	618	2.51		[2][3]
Argon	Ar	22.61	0.0178	313	2.52		[2][3]
Krypton	Kr	25.38	0.0094	149	2.49		[2][3]
Xenon	Xe	23.08	0.0056	95.0	2.55		[2][3]
Radon	Rn	≈26	≈0.00364	56.2		T = 26.85 °C; ${\displaystyle k}$ calculated theoretically; ${\displaystyle \mu }$ estimated assuming ${\displaystyle f=2.5}$	[4]

Diatomic elements

Substance	Molecular formula	Viscosity (μPa·s)	Notes	Ref.
Hydrogen	H2	8.90		[5]
Nitrogen	N2	17.76		[5]
Oxygen	O2	20.64		[6]
Fluorine	F2	23.16		[7]
Chlorine	Cl2	13.40		[7]

Hydrocarbons

Substance	Molecular formula	Viscosity (μPa·s)	Notes	Ref.
Methane	CH4	11.13	T = 20 °C	[8]
Acetylene	C2H2	10.2	T = 20 °C	[9]
Ethylene	C2H4	10.28	T = 20 °C	[8]
Ethane	C2H6	9.27	T = 20 °C	[8]
Propyne	C3H4	8.67	T = 20 °C	[9]
Propene	C3H6	8.39	T = 20 °C	[10]
Propane	C3H8	8.18	T = 20 °C	[8]
Butane	C4H10	7.49	T = 20 °C	[8]

Organohalides

Substance	Molecular formula	Viscosity (μPa·s)	Notes	Ref.
Carbon tetrafluoride	CF4	17.32		[11]
Fluoromethane	CH3F	11.79		[12]
Difluoromethane	CH2F2	12.36		[12]
Fluoroform	CHF3	14.62		[12]
Pentafluoroethane	C2HF5	12.94		[12]
Hexafluoroethane	C2F6	14.00		[12]
Octafluoropropane	C3F8	12.44		[12]

Other gases

Substance	Molecular formula	Viscosity (μPa·s)	Notes	Ref.
Air		18.46		[6]
Ammonia	NH3	10.07		[13]
Nitrogen trifluoride	NF3	17.11	T = 26.85 °C	[14]
Boron trichloride	BCl3	12.3	Theoretical estimate at T = 26.85 °C; estimated uncertainty of 10%	[14]
Carbon dioxide	CO2	14.90		[15]
Carbon monoxide	CO	17.79		[16]
Hydrogen sulfide	H2S	12.34		[17]
Nitric oxide	NO	18.90		[7]
Nitrous oxide	N2O	14.90		[18]
Sulfur dioxide	SO2	12.82		[10]
Sulfur hexafluoride	SF6	15.23		[5]
Molybdenum hexafluoride	MoF6	14.5	Theoretical estimates at T = 26.85 °C	[19]
Tungsten hexafluoride	WF6	17.1
Uranium hexafluoride	UF6	17.4

Liquids

n-Alkanes

Substances composed of longer molecules tend to have larger viscosities due to the increased contact of molecules across layers of flow.^[20] This effect can be observed for the n-alkanes and 1-chloroalkanes tabulated below. More dramatically, a long-chain hydrocarbon like squalane (C₃₀H₆₂) has a viscosity an order of magnitude larger than the shorter n-alkanes (roughly 31 mPa·s at 25 °C). This is also the reason oils tend to be highly viscous, since they are usually composed of long-chain hydrocarbons.

Substance	Molecular formula	Viscosity (mPa·s)	Notes	Ref.
Pentane	C5H12	0.224		[21]
Hexane	C6H14	0.295		[22]
Heptane	C7H16	0.389		[22]
Octane	C8H18	0.509		[22]
Nonane	C9H20	0.665		[21]
Decane	C10H22	0.850		[22]
Undecane	C11H24	1.098		[21]
Dodecane	C12H26	1.359		[22]
Tridecane	C13H28	1.724		[21]
Tetradecane	C14H30	2.078		[22]
Pentadecane	C15H32	2.82	T = 20 °C	[23]
Hexadecane	C16H34	3.03		[21]
Heptadecane	C17H36	4.21	T = 20 °C	[24]

1-Chloroalkanes

Substance	Molecular formula	Viscosity (mPa·s)	Notes	Ref.
Chlorobutane	C4H9Cl	0.4261		[25]
Chlorohexane	C6H11Cl	0.6945
Chlorooctane	C8H17Cl	1.128
Chlorodecane	C10H21Cl	1.772
Chlorododecane	C12H25Cl	2.668
Chlorotetradecane	C14H29Cl	3.875
Chlorohexadecane	C16H33Cl	5.421
Chlorooctadecane	C18H37Cl	7.385	Supercooled liquid

Other halocarbons

Substance	Molecular formula	Viscosity (mPa·s)	Notes	Ref.
Dichloromethane	CH2Cl2	0.401		[26]
Trichloromethane (chloroform)	CHCl3	0.52		[10]
Tribromomethane (bromoform)	CHBr3	1.89		[27]
Carbon tetrachloride	CCl4	0.86		[27]
Trichloroethylene	C2HCl3	0.532		[28]
Tetrachloroethylene	C2Cl4	0.798	T = 30 °C	[28]
Chlorobenzene	C6H5Cl	0.773		[29]
Bromobenzene	C6H5Br	1.080		[29]
1-Bromodecane	C10H21Br	3.373		[30]

Alkenes

Substance	Molecular formula	Viscosity (mPa·s)	Notes	Ref.
2-Pentene	C5H10	0.201		[31]
1-Hexene	C6H12	0.271		[32]
1-Heptene	C7H14	0.362		[32]
1-Octene	C8H16	0.506	T = 20 °C	[31]
2-Octene	C8H16	0.506	T = 20 °C	[31]
n-Decene	C10H20	0.828	T = 20 °C	[31]

Other liquids

Substance	Molecular formula	Viscosity (mPa·s)	Notes	Ref.
Acetic acid	C2H4O2	1.056		[21]
Acetone	C3H6O	0.302		[33]
Benzene	C6H6	0.604		[21]
Bromine	Br2	0.944		[21]
Ethanol	C2H6O	1.074		[21]
Glycerol	C3H8O3	1412		[34]
Hydrazine	H4N2	0.876		[21]
Iodine pentafluoride	IF5	2.111		[35]
Mercury	Hg	1.526		[21]
Methanol	CH4O	0.553		[36]
1-Propanol (propyl alcohol)	C3H8O	1.945		[37]
2-Propanol (isopropyl alcohol)	C3H8O	2.052		[37]
Squalane	C30H62	31.123		[38]
Water	H2O	1.0016	T = 20 °C, standard pressure	[21]

Aqueous solutions

The viscosity of an aqueous solution can either increase or decrease with concentration depending on the solute and the range of concentration. For instance, the table below shows that viscosity increases monotonically with concentration for sodium chloride and calcium chloride, but decreases for potassium iodide and cesium chloride (the latter up to 30% mass percentage, after which viscosity increases).

The increase in viscosity for sucrose solutions is particularly dramatic, and explains in part the common experience of sugar water being "sticky".

Table: Viscosities (in mPa·s) of aqueous solutions at T = 20 °C for various solutes and mass percentages[21]
Solute	mass percentage = 1%	2%	3%	4%	5%	10%	15%	20%	30%	40%	50%	60%	70%
Sodium chloride (NaCl)	1.020	1.036	1.052	1.068	1.085	1.193	1.352	1.557
Calcium chloride (CaCl2)	1.028	1.050	1.078	1.110	1.143	1.319	1.564	1.930	3.467	8.997
Potassium iodide (KI)	0.997	0.991	0.986	0.981	0.976	0.946	0.925	0.910	0.892	0.897
Cesium chloride (CsCl)	0.997	0.992	0.988	0.984	0.980	0.966	0.953	0.939	0.922	0.934	0.981	1.120
Sucrose (C12H22O11)	1.028	1.055	1.084	1.114	1.146	1.336	1.592	1.945	3.187	6.162	15.431	58.487	481.561

Substances of variable composition

Substance	Viscosity (mPa·s)	Temperature (°C)	Reference
Whole milk	2.12	20	[39]
Blood	2 - 9	37	[40]
Olive oil	56.2	26	[39]
Canola oil	46.2	30	[39]
Sunflower oil	48.8	26	[39]
Honey	${\displaystyle \approx }$ 2000-10,000	20	[41]
Ketchup[a]	${\displaystyle \approx }$ 5000-20,000	25	[42]
Peanut butter[a]	${\displaystyle \approx }$ 104-106		[43]
Pitch	2.3×1011	10-30 (variable)	[44]

1. These materials are highly non-Newtonian.

Viscosities under nonstandard conditions

Gases

Pressure dependence of the viscosity of dry air at 300, 400 and 500 kelvins

All values are given at 1 bar (approximately equal to atmospheric pressure).

Substance	Chemical formula	Temperature (K)	Viscosity (μPa·s)
Air		100	7.1
		200	13.3
		300	18.5
		400	23.1
		500	27.1
		600	30.8
Ammonia	NH3	300	10.2
		400	14.0
		500	17.9
		600	21.7
Carbon dioxide	CO2	200	10.1
		300	15.0
		400	19.7
		500	24.0
		600	28.0
Helium	He	100	9.6
		200	15.1
		300	19.9
		400	24.3
		500	28.3
		600	32.2
Water vapor	H2O	380	12.498
		400	13.278
		450	15.267
		500	17.299
		550	19.356
		600	21.425
		650	23.496
		700	25.562
		750	27.617
		800	29.657
		900	33.680
		1000	37.615
		1100	41.453
		1200	45.192

Liquids (including liquid metals)

Viscosity of water as a function of temperature

Substance	Chemical formula	Temperature (°C)	Viscosity (mPa·s)
Mercury[45][46]	Hg	-30	1.958
		-20	1.856
		-10	1.766
		0	1.686
		10	1.615
		20	1.552
		25	1.526
		30	1.495
		50	1.402
		75	1.312
		100	1.245
		126.85	1.187
		226.85	1.020
		326.85	0.921
Ethanol	C2H6O	-25	3.26
		0	1.786
		25	1.074
		50	0.694
		75	0.476
Bromine	Br2	0	1.252
		25	0.944
		50	0.746
Water	H2O	0.01	1.7911
		10	1.3059
		20	1.0016
		25	0.89002
		30	0.79722
		40	0.65273
		50	0.54652
		60	0.46603
		70	0.40355
		80	0.35405
		90	0.31417
		99.606	0.28275
Glycerol	C3H8O3	25	934
		50	152
		75	39.8
		100	14.76
Aluminum	Al	700	1.24
		800	1.04
		900	0.90
Gold	Au	1100	5.130
		1200	4.640
		1300	4.240
Copper	Cu	1100	3.92
		1200	3.34
		1300	2.91
		1400	2.58
		1500	2.31
		1600	2.10
		1700	1.92
Silver	Ag	1300	3.75
		1400	3.27
		1500	2.91
Iron	Fe	1600	5.22
		1700	4.41
		1800	3.79
		1900	3.31
		2000	2.92
		2100	2.60

In the following table, the temperature is given in kelvins.

Substance	Chemical formula	Temperature (K)	Viscosity (mPa·s)
Gallium[46]	Ga	400	1.158
		500	0.915
		600	0.783
		700	0.700
		800	0.643
Zinc[46]	Zn	700	3.737
		800	2.883
		900	2.356
		1000	2.005
		1100	1.756
Cadmium[46]	Cd	600	2.708
		700	2.043
		800	1.654
		900	1.403

Solids

Substance	Viscosity (Pa·s)	Temperature (°C)
granite[47]	3×1019 - 6×1019	25
asthenosphere[48]	7.0×1019	900
upper mantle[48]	7×1020 – 1×1021	1300–3000
lower mantle[citation needed]	1×1021 – 2×1021	3000–4000