Why do different liquids have different volcosities?

Answer 1

The viscosity of a substance is dependent on the ability of its particles to rearrange and move past each other. This is affected by their shape and size and by the forces of attraction between them, The greater the forces, the greater the viscosity. For instance, the forces between molecules in the hydrocarbons which make up crude oil are van der Waals forces. They are larger for longer molecules. Thus when you separate out the different sized molecules by fractional distillation, one difference you find between the fractions is that viscosity increases with molecular size.

Answer 2

Viscosity is measured by what's called a "marsh funnel cup". It is determined by the temperature of the fluid and the ambient temperature, as well as the thickness in which a fluid moves and the specific gravity has some bearing on it, too. So all of these variables determine what each liquid's viscosity is.

Answer 3

Different liquids have different viscosities because of differences in their molecular structures and intermolecular forces. Liquids with complex or larger molecules tend to have higher viscosities because the molecules have more opportunities to interact and create resistance to flow. Additionally, the presence of impurities, temperature, and pressure can also affect a liquid's viscosity.

Answer 4

Different Liquids have Different Viscosities because some liquids are thicker, stronger, thiner, etc. than others, so they have different resistance of different fulids.