coefficient of viscosity

noun

, Physics.

1. the measure of the viscosity of a fluid, equal to the force per unit area required to maintain a difference of velocity of one unit distance per unit time between two parallel planes in the fluid that lie in the direction of flow and are separated by one unit distance: usually expressed in poise or centipoise.

Word History and Origins

Origin of coefficient of viscosity¹

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

The theory of the fall of a heavy drop of water through a viscous fluid shows that v = 2⁄9ga�/μ, where a is the radius of the drop, g the acceleration due to gravity, and μ the coefficient of viscosity of the gas through which the drop falls.

From Project Gutenberg