What You Need to Know.docVIP

Hardy 3603110313 What You Need to Know A fluid is a gas or a liquid. The measurement of how easily a fluid flows is called viscosity. How Does Viscosity Work? Friction is a force that opposes the motion of objects that are in contact with one another. For a fluid to flow, its particles must move across one another. So viscosity is a measure of the friction among the particles of a fluid. What Does This Have to Do with Finding the Viscosity of Different Fluids? The greater the friction among the particles of a fluid, the greater is the viscosity and the slower is the motion of the fluid. For example, the frictional forces among the particles in honey are much greater than the frictional forces among the particles in water. So the viscosity of honey is greater than the viscosity of water. Thickness is also an indication of viscosity. The more viscous the fluid, the thicker it is. Honey is more viscous and thicker than water. Another observation of high viscosity is how smoothly a liquid pours. When thick honey is poured into a bowl, it pours smoothly, while thinner water, with a much lower viscosity, splashes about. Real-Life Science Challenge Many fluids get thicker and more viscous when they get colder and thinner and less viscous when they are heated. The viscosity of multiweight motor oil used in cars is specified using two numbers, such as 10W30. The first number, 10, is the viscosity of the oil when it is cold. The letter W stands for winter. The number 30, after the W, indicates the viscosity of the oil when it is at operating temperature. The higher the number, the thinner the oil. Multiweight motor oil is used in order to protect an engine at start time, when the cold oil needs to be thinner. Because cold oil is normally thicker than hot oil, chemicals are added to make the oil thinner when it is cold, without making the oil too thin when it heats up. This kind of oil has particles connected in chains. When the oil is cold, the chains ball up, reducing the f