Demonstrations

Viscosity

Code Number :	2C30.15
Disclaimer:	Reprinted by permission of Dick Berg, University of Maryland, for use on this website. The demonstrations contained and referenced herein are listed for the purposes of cataloging and describing physics demonstrations which should be conducted only under the direction of a trained instructional support professional or physicist. These demonstrations are not presented for the purpose of being conducted by persons unconnected to this Facility and/or persons not consulting with or being supervised by the recognized instructional support professional or physicist and his/her staff. The University is responsible only for those demonstrations carried out using its own equipment using established safety and scheduling policies, and bears no responsibility for those choosing to use this source material for their own purposes. All demonstrations described and contained herein are public domain, and can also be found in reference materials in libraries, bookstores, and electronic sources. Further information regarding legal liability in use of demonstrations and labs will be found on the web site Injuries in School/College Laboratories in USA. The University of Iowa Disclaimers: University of Iowa Disclaimer All Rights Reserved..
Condition :	Good
Principle :	Viscosity
Area of Study :	Heat and Fluids
Equipment :	Flat metal plates, Mass set, pulley, fishing line cord, Glycerin.
Procedure :	Clamp the large metal plate to the top of a table. Position the pulley so that a mass will be able to pull the small plate across the surface of the large plate without lifting the front of the small plate. Pour some glycerin onto the the large plate and spread it out so that the small plate will slide on a film of glycerin as it is being pulled. Add mass to the end of the string connected to the small plate until this plate moves with constant velocity. Measure how far the plate moves per unit of time.

References

Federico M. Ortega, Osvaldo D. Pavioni, Hugo L. Dominguez, "A Communicating-Vessel Viscometer", TPT, Vol. 45, # 2, Feb. 2007, p. 116.

Lewis Carrol, "Viscosity", TPT, Vol. 20, #1, Jan. 1982, p. 47 - 48.

L. Courbin, G. Cristobal, M. Winckert, P. Panizza, "Erratum: 'Design of a Low Cost Zimm-Crothers Viscometer: From Theory to Experiment' [AJP, Vol. 73, # 9, 851-855, Sept. 2005]", AJP, Vol. 74, # 1, Jan. 2006.

Rafael M. Digilov, M. Reiner, "Weight-controlled Capillary Viscometer", AJP, Vol. 73, # 11, Nov. 2005, p. 1020.

L. Courbin, G. Cristobal, M. Winckert, and P. Panizza, "Design of a Low Cost Zimm-Crothers Viscometer: From Theory to Experiment", AJP, Vol. 73, # 9, Sept. 2005, p. 851.

E. M. Purcell, "Life at Low Reynolds Number", AJP, Vol. 45, # 1, Jan. 1977, p. 3.

Mail Questions and Comments to: Dale Stille