Viscosity - Dynamic Converter

Convert dynamic (absolute) viscosity between pascal second, poise, centipoise, newton second per square meter, pound-force second per square foot and other units. Pick a source and a target unit, enter a value and read the result instantly.

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This tool converts dynamic viscosity (Pa·s, poise). Kinematic viscosity (stokes, mm²/s) is a different quantity: convert it with the Kinematic Viscosity Converter.

Dynamic Viscosity Formula

Every dynamic viscosity unit is a fixed multiple of one reference unit, the pascal second (Pa·s, which is the same as kg/(m·s) and N·s/m²). To convert, multiply the value by the size of the source unit in Pa·s, then divide by the size of the target unit in Pa·s. The factors come from exact definitions: 1 poise = 0.1 Pa·s, 1 kgf = 9.80665 N, 1 lbf = 0.45359237 kg × 9.80665 m/s², 1 poundal = 1 lb·ft/s², 1 slug = 1 lbf·s²/ft.

Formula: Result = Value × (source factor ÷ target factor)

Conversion Formula

Result = Value × (source factor ÷ target factor)

Factors are the unit sizes in Pa·s (table below)

1 cP = 0.001 Pa·s

1 P = 0.1 Pa·s

1 lbf·s/ft² = 47.88025898 Pa·s

1 lb/(ft·s) = 1,488.163944 cP

What Is Dynamic Viscosity?

Dynamic viscosity, also called absolute viscosity, measures a fluid’s resistance to shear, which is how strongly it resists layers sliding over one another. Thick fluids such as honey or engine oil have high dynamic viscosity, while water and air have low values. It is defined as the shear stress divided by the shear rate, so its SI unit is the pascal second (Pa·s), equal to one newton second per square meter and to one kilogram per meter per second.

The classic CGS unit is the poise (P), equal to 0.1 Pa·s, named after Jean Poiseuille. Because the poise is large for common liquids, the centipoise (cP) is used far more often. One centipoise equals one millipascal second (mPa·s) and water at about 20 °C has a viscosity of roughly 1 cP. Air is about 0.018 cP, while honey can be several thousand cP.

Imperial and engineering units appear in older and US literature: the pound-force second per square foot, the slug per foot per second and the pound per foot per second. Dynamic viscosity should never be mixed up with kinematic viscosity, which is the dynamic viscosity divided by density and is measured in square meters per second or stokes. Changing between them requires the fluid density, so that conversion is not part of this tool.

Supported Units

This converter supports the following 29 dynamic viscosity units, including the poise with every SI prefix from exa to atto. The last column shows how many pascal seconds one unit equals. Two imperial pairs are numerically identical: the slug per foot per second equals the pound-force second per square foot, and the pound per foot per second equals the poundal second per square foot.

Unit	Symbol	Value in Pa·s
Pascal second	Pa·s	1
Kilogram-force second per square meter	kgf·s/m²	9.80665
Newton second per square meter	N·s/m²	1
Millinewton second per square meter	mN·s/m²	0.001
Dyne second per square centimeter	dyn·s/cm²	0.1
Poise	P	0.1
Exapoise	EP	1e+17
Petapoise	PP	1e+14
Terapoise	TP	100,000,000,000
Gigapoise	GP	100,000,000
Megapoise	MP	100,000
Kilopoise	kP	100
Hectopoise	hP	10
Dekapoise	daP	1
Decipoise	dP	0.01
Centipoise	cP	0.001
Millipoise	mP	0.0001
Micropoise	µP	1e-7
Nanopoise	nP	1e-10
Picopoise	pP	1e-13
Femtopoise	fP	1e-16
Attopoise	aP	1e-19
Pound-force second per square inch	lbf·s/in²	6,894.757293
Pound-force second per square foot	lbf·s/ft²	47.88025898
Poundal second per square foot	pdl·s/ft²	1.488163944
Gram per centimeter per second	g/(cm·s)	0.1
Slug per foot per second	slug/(ft·s)	47.88025898
Pound per foot per second	lb/(ft·s)	1.488163944
Pound per foot per hour	lb/(ft·h)	0.0004133788732

How to Use the Viscosity - Dynamic Converter

Type the dynamic viscosity in the value box. Decimals and scientific notation such as 0.0025 or 2.5e-3 are accepted.
Choose the From unit and the To unit.
The result appears instantly, or press Convert Now. Very large or very small results are shown in scientific notation.
Use Swap Units to reverse the conversion, Copy Result to copy the answer, open Show this value in all units for a full list, and Clear to start again.

Step-by-step by hand

Find the size of each unit in the common base unit (Pa·s): 1 cP = 0.001 Pa·s and 1 Pa·s = 1 Pa·s.
Divide the source size by the target size to get the conversion factor: 0.001 ÷ 1 = 0.001, so 1 cP = 0.001 Pa·s.
Multiply by your value: 100 cP × 0.001 = 0.1 Pa·s.

Viscosity cannot be negative, so only zero and positive numbers are accepted.

Common Viscosity Conversions

Water at room temperature: about 1 cP is 0.001 Pa·s, which is the same as 1 mPa·s.
Lubricating oil: 220 cP equals 0.22 Pa·s and 2.2 P.
Thick liquid: 2.5 Pa·s equals 2,500 cP or 25 poise.
CGS to SI: 0.8 dyn·s/cm² equals 0.08 Pa·s.
Imperial data sheet: 0.00002 lbf·s/ft² equals 0.9576051796 cP.
Pound per foot per second: 1 lb/(ft·s) equals 1,488.163944 cP and 1.488163944 Pa·s.
Pound per foot per hour: 1 lb/(ft·h) equals 0.4133788732 cP.

Centipoise to Pascal Second – Common Values

Quick reference for frequently used values

Centipoise (cP)	Pascal second (Pa·s)	Poise (P)	lbf·s/ft²	lb/(ft·s)
0.018	1.8e-5	0.00018	3.759378162e-7	1.209544155e-5
0.5	0.0005	0.005	1.044271712e-5	0.0003359844876
1	0.001	0.01	2.088543423e-5	0.0006719689751
10	0.01	0.1	0.0002088543423	0.006719689751
50	0.05	0.5	0.001044271712	0.03359844876
100	0.1	1	0.002088543423	0.06719689751
500	0.5	5	0.01044271712	0.3359844876
1,000	1	10	0.02088543423	0.6719689751
5,000	5	50	0.1044271712	3.359844876
10,000	10	100	0.2088543423	6.719689751

Where and Why This Conversion Is Used

Lubricants and oils: specifications mix cP, mPa·s and Pa·s, so values must be matched when comparing products.
Paints, inks, adhesives and food: product data sheets quote centipoise from rotational viscometers.
Pumping and piping design: pressure-drop and Reynolds-number calculations need dynamic viscosity in consistent SI units.
Petroleum and chemical engineering: reservoir and process fluids are described in cP, while models use Pa·s.
Medicine and biology: blood and plasma viscosity are reported in mPa·s or cP.
Older engineering references: US texts use lbf·s/ft², slug/(ft·s) and lb/(ft·h).

To work with viscosity divided by density use the Viscosity - Kinematic Converter. For surface effects see the Surface Tension Converter.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is dynamic viscosity?

Dynamic viscosity is a fluid’s resistance to flow under shear, defined as shear stress divided by shear rate. Its SI unit is the pascal second (Pa·s).

How many Pa·s is one centipoise?

One centipoise equals 0.001 Pa·s, which is also exactly one millipascal second (mPa·s).

How do I convert poise to Pa·s?

Multiply poise by 0.1. One poise equals 0.1 Pa·s, so 12 P is 1.2 Pa·s.

What is the difference between dynamic and kinematic viscosity?

Dynamic viscosity (Pa·s, poise) measures resistance to shear. Kinematic viscosity (m²/s, stokes) is the dynamic viscosity divided by the fluid density. They are not interchangeable, and converting from one to the other needs the density of the fluid.

What viscosity does water have?

Water at about 20 °C has a dynamic viscosity of roughly 1 mPa·s, which is 1 cP. Viscosity falls as temperature rises, so the value is lower in hot water and higher in cold water.

Are lbf·s/ft² and slug/(ft·s) the same?

Numerically yes. A slug is one pound-force second squared per foot, so slug/(ft·s) and lbf·s/ft² are the same unit and both equal 47.88025898 Pa·s. In the same way a poundal second per square foot equals a pound per foot per second.

Is this converter accurate?

Yes. It uses exact definitions of the poise, pound, foot, slug and standard gravity, keeps full precision internally and rounds only the displayed result to 10 significant digits, using scientific notation for very large or very small values.