A High Viscosity Liquid Will

Fluid mechanics is the study of how fluids move, and one of the most important parameters of fluids is their viscosity. Nearly people think of "viscosity" in terms of a fluid's ability to flow. Chemists have a slightly different feel for the phenomenon; viscosity is defined equally its resistance to gradual deformation. This corresponds to the breezy concept of "thickness" — for example, honey is thicker and has a much higher viscosity than water.

According to Wikipedia, viscosity is the friction between the molecules of fluid. For instance, when a fluid flows through a tube, the fluid will move more than quickly near the heart of the tube axis but move more slowly along the walls of the tube. This is because of the friction with the walls. Pressure or energy ("stress") is needed to overcome the friction between the faster-moving fluid and the more slowly moving layers. Fluids with low viscosity have a low resistance and shear easily and the molecules flow quickly; high viscosity fluids motion sluggishly and resist deformation. Some liquids, like pitch, drinking glass and peanut butter, have such high viscosity they conduct like solids.

In common vernacular, a liquid is said to be "viscous" if its viscosity is substantially greater than that of water, and is described as "mobile" if the viscosity is noticeably less than water.

Some mutual viscosities are listed in this chart:

Fluid	Viscosity (cPs)
Air	0.02
Acetone	0.3
Methanol	0.vi
H2o	1.0
Ethanol	1.two
Mercury	ane.5
Olive oil	84.0
Motor Oil SAE 50	540.0
Glycerin	1,490.0
Maple Syrup	three,200.0
Honey	12,200.0
Molasses (treacle)	20,000.0
Peanut Butter	250,000.0

Viscosity varies with temperature and pressure. Information technology is normally expressed, particularly in ASTM standards, as centipoise (cPs). For case, water at xx°C has a viscosity of 1.002 cPs.

Common cold molasses is a highly viscous liquid, as every grandmother knows.