Dynamic Viscosity Converter
Dynamic viscosity describes how strongly a fluid resists flow. It is reported in pascal-seconds in SI, in poise and centipoise in the older CGS system, and in pound-force second per square foot or reyn in imperial engineering. Enter a value, pick the units, and the converter applies exact definitions to give a precise result. The base unit is the pascal-second.
How the conversion works
value in Pa.s = value * (from factor)
result = value in Pa.s / (to factor)
1 Pa.s = 10 P = 1,000 cP
Each unit's factor is its size in pascal-seconds. The input is converted to pascal-seconds, then to the target unit.
Worked example
1 Pa.s converts to centipoise by dividing by 0.001, giving 1,000.00 cP. Water near room temperature, about 0.001 Pa.s, is therefore about 1.00 cP.
Dynamic viscosity: frequently asked questions
What is dynamic viscosity?
Dynamic viscosity measures a fluid's resistance to flow under an applied shear stress. Its SI unit is the pascal-second (Pa.s). Water at about 20 degrees Celsius has a dynamic viscosity near 0.001 Pa.s, which is 1 centipoise.
What is the relationship between poise and pascal-second?
The poise is the CGS unit of dynamic viscosity. One pascal-second equals exactly 10 poise, so 1 poise equals 0.1 Pa.s. The centipoise, one hundredth of a poise, equals exactly 0.001 Pa.s, which is the same as a millipascal-second.
Why is water often described as 1 centipoise?
By coincidence, the dynamic viscosity of water near room temperature is very close to 1 centipoise, which made the centipoise a convenient reference unit. That is why many viscosity figures are quoted relative to water in centipoise.
How is dynamic viscosity different from kinematic viscosity?
Dynamic viscosity is the resistance to shear, measured in pascal-seconds. Kinematic viscosity is dynamic viscosity divided by density, measured in square metres per second or stokes. This converter handles dynamic viscosity only.
Official sources
- NIST Guide to the SI, conversion factors: nist.gov SP 811.
- BIPM SI Brochure: bipm.org.
Reviewed by the CalculatorHub team, edited by James Graham, 19 June 2026. See our methodology.