As the winter solstice approaches and the local temperatures drop I find myself thinking about how these weather conditions impact viscosity, and how that is relevant in our daily lives.
Viscosity is defined as a fluids resistance to flow, and one condition that has a significant impact on viscosity is temperature. Fluids are more viscous at lower temperatures, and therefore are more viscous in the winter as temperatures are low. You may find yourself thinking, "yes, but how does this impact my daily life". Viscosity plays a huge role in our day to day lives. It affects the things we cook and what we cook them in, the oil in our car, the ink we use to print out documents, and the different self-care products we use every day.
During winter months you may find that your liquid soap does not flow like it does in the warm summer months. Or, as you are baking your holiday treats, you may find that your oil or condensed milk are much harder to extract from their containers and do not readily flow like you would expect. All of this is because lower temperatures will increase viscosity of these fluids.
Most of us don't give any thought to the viscosity of the oil in our cars, however if you live in an area that experiences harsh winter weather with extremely low temperatures, engine oil viscosity plays an important role in keeping your engine protected and vehicle performance. "The oil viscosity numbers on the bottle refer to how quickly the oil will flow, representing its grade. If you live in a cold climate, a multigrade oil is a must" (Napa Blog).
Viscosity also impacts those delicious cold weather (aka holiday) coffee beverages we all enjoy! As you enjoy all of the festive holiday beverages this season, you may (or may not) wonder about how the different seasonal creamer options will impact the viscosity of your coffee, however we do! That is why we will be spreading some holiday cheer in our December webinar, analyzing all the different seasonal creamer options including:
- Plant based
- Holiday flavored
- Real cream
We will demonstrate how easy it is to measure the viscosity of your favorite coffee addition with the m-VROC® and how to interpret the results based on the ingredient list.
Register here to join us as we investigate these different creamers.
Written by: Eden Reid, RheoSense Senior Marketing and Sales Operations
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