Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Refractive Index Viscosity

Introduction to refractive index and viscosity:

Refractive index and viscosity are fundamental physical properties of a substance, which helps to identify a particular substance to confirm its purity or to measure its concentration.Is this topic Boron Family Name hard for you? Watch out for my coming posts.


About refractive index and viscosity:


Refractive Index

Light waves travel from one medium to another at different speeds. The refraction index helps in defining light propagation speed, bending angle and the quantity of radiation transmitted and reflected by a material. Refraction index can be measured using the formula n=c/ vp and which can be defined as the ratio of the speed, c to the phase speed, vp, of the wave in the medium.

Refractive index measurement can be done using a refractometer to measure the power of not only solids like gemstones, glass, lenses and prisms but also the concentration of liquids and gases.

Viscosity

A fluid's viscosity can be found when the layers moving at different velocities in a fluid are under stress that moves against the applied force.  This resistance of the fluid, which is being deformed with stress, is called viscosity. A substance can be characterized based on the friction between the fluid layers i.e. if a substance is thick then it has high viscosity.

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Classification of viscosity in fluids:



Viscosity in fluids can be classified as:

The fluids such as gases and water that have a constant viscosity are called Newtonian type.
The substances whose viscosity increases with the rate of shear come under the shear thickening type.
The substances whose viscosity decreases with the rate of shear come under the shear thinning type.
Some materials when shaken or agitated that become less viscous are termed under the thixotropic type.
Rheopectic materials are the ones, which tend to become more viscous when shaken or agitated.
When a fluid tends to become a viscoelastic solid under magnetic field thus increasing its viscosity can be termed as magnetorheological fluid.
The viscosity of substances can be measured using viscometers and rheometers using their respective coefficients, which are classified into dynamic, or absolute, kinetic, shear, volume and extensional viscosity.

Refractive index and viscosity are the two important physical properties that help in judging and studying a substance.

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