Does gravity effect viscosity ?is viscosity independent od gravity ?

Join the discussion
Ask a follow-up here, or get your own question answered by working scientists, mathematicians and engineers — people, not an autocomplete.
Real named experts · corrections over time · the nuance an AI answer skips
2 replies · 5K views
phymatter
Messages
131
Reaction score
0
does gravity effect viscosity ?
is viscosity independent od gravity ?
 
Physics news on Phys.org


For practical purposes on the surface of the earth, I would think gravity would only affect viscosity if you have a column of fluid tall enough to raise the pressure enough to change the viscosity. In other words,

P = Po + density X g X h

Since viscosity is a weak function of pressure, there is minimal effect on the Earth's surface.

In the vacuum of space with almost zero absolute pressure, however, the change could be significant enough to account for.