Dynamic viscosity measures a fluid's resistance to flow under shear. The SI unit is the pascal-second; the everyday unit is the centipoise (water ≈ 1 cP). This converter moves between Pa·s, mPa·s, poise, centipoise and two imperial units using exact factors.
Reviewed: June 20, 2026 · Author: Naveen P N, Founder — AI Calculator · Verified against: SI and CGS viscosity definitions, recomputed in code.
How conversion works
Each unit has a fixed factor to pascal-seconds: poise 0.1, centipoise 0.001, millipascal-second 0.001, pound per foot-second 1.488164, and pound-force-second per square foot 47.880259. Notice centipoise and millipascal-second share the same factor, so they're identical. The value is converted to Pa·s, then divided by the target factor. This handles dynamic viscosity only — for kinematic viscosity (stokes), divide by density.
Worked examples
1 Pa·s to centipoise:
1 poise to Pa·s:
1 lb/(ft·s) to Pa·s:
So water at about 1 cP is 0.001 Pa·s, a 10 cP light oil is 0.01 Pa·s, and a 2,000 cP honey is 2 Pa·s. Centipoise keeps everyday fluids in convenient whole-number ranges, which is why it's the unit of choice in industry.
Frequently Asked Questions
SI: pascal-second. CGS: poise. Practical: centipoise (1 cP = 0.001 Pa·s). Water ≈ 1 cP.
Multiply by 1000. 0.5 Pa·s = 500 cP.
Yes, exactly. 1 cP = 1 mPa·s = 0.001 Pa·s.
Dynamic (Pa·s, poise) is shear resistance; kinematic (stokes) is dynamic ÷ density. This is dynamic.
Water ≈ 1 cP, oil tens of cP, honey thousands, ketchup tens of thousands.