Name: Apau Anita AmaDzidzor

1st October, 2010

Registration №: SM/SMS/10/0017 Physics practicals

Experiment 4
Viscosity Measurement With The Falling-Ball Viscosity

AIM: 1. To determine the viscosity of glycerin by considering the velocity of ball bearings of different
diameters through it.
2. To verify the law of Stokes’ law which states that, if a sphere of radius r and density(σ) moves
with a velocity (v) in a fluid of viscosity (ή) and of density (ρ), then for very small velocities, the resistance (W) of
the sphere is W=6πrήv.

APPARATUS Quantity
Stop watch. Interruption type 1
Falling Ball viscometer 1
Glass beaker. Short. 250mL 1
Rubber tubing. 0.8 mm 1
Bath for thermostat.Makrolon 1
Glycerin 500mL 1
DIAGRAM

Theory
The term commonly used in the description of fluid flow to characterize the degree of internal friction in the fluid
is viscosity. . The higher the temperature the less viscous the fluid is.
Whatis associated with the resistance that two adjacent layers of fluid have to moving relative to each other is
called the internal friction, or viscousforce, . It’s very difficult for layers of a viscous fluid to slide past one another.
Likewise, it’s difficult for one solid surface to slide past another if there is a highly viscous fluid, such as soft tar,
between them. In Viscosity part of the kinetic energy of a fluid isconverted to internal energy. This mechanism is
similar to the one by which an object sliding on a rough horizontal surface loses kinetic energy. When a sphere or
body falls through a viscous medium (liquid) it experiences three forces which act on it. These forces are the
weight of the body (W), upthrust (F)and the viscous drag or force (the force of frictional resistance (B).
The basis of the falling sphere viscometer is based on stroke’s law. When a sphere of known size and density is
correctly selected, andis allowed to descend through a fluid, when the ball reaches about 6cm-8cm into the fluid it
attains it’s terminal velocity. When the terminal velocity is known, together with the size and density of the ball,
the viscosity of the fluid can be calculated using stroke’s law.

According to Stroke’s law, the magnitude of the Friction resistance (viscous force or drag) on spherical body of
radius r falling through a fluid of viscosity η with velocity V is given by;
Fr = 6πηrV.
Where V is the velocity of the ball, η is the viscosity and r is the radius.
Weight is the force of gravity on the sphere given by;
w = mg
But mass (m) =ρv. Where ρ is the density.

The weight of the ball, w¿ ρvg=ρg ( 43 π r ) 3

4 3
The volume v of the sphere is given as v= πr
3
The Buoyant Force, B of the fluid.
According toArchimedes’ principle, the magnitude of the buoyant force is the weight of the fluid displaced by the
sphere:

B=ρ f gv= ρ f g ( 43 π r ) 3
, since volume of sphere v=
4 3
3
πr

when the ball begins to fall in a fluid, the force of frictional resistanceFr is zero. As the sphere accelerates in the fluid, it’s speed increases and Fr also increases. when the ball reaches a particular

point in the fluid it attains a terminal velocity then the net force goes to zero.
Fr + B = w Or
4 4
6 πη r V t + ρ f g( π r 3)= ρg( π r 3)
3 3
2 9 v t
r=
η
2 g(σ – ρ) ( )
where:Fr is the frictional force
r is the radius of the spherical object,
η is the fluid viscosity, and
vt is the particle's velocity.

METHOD
the apparatus was set up as shown above in the diagram the viscometer was cleaned and filled with the fluid to be
investigated (glycerine) to just below the brim. After the stopper was carefully inserted in the viscometer tube and
secured. The temperature was kept constant at 25 degree Celsius for about 10 minutes using the thermostat and
the bath. The masses and the diameters of the alloy balls were using the electronic balance and micrometer
screwguage respectively.A fixed distance was measured on the viscometer tube with a ruler between markings.
The ball bearings were dropped in the viscometer tube through the glycerin and the time of travel was recorded on
5 occassions for each of the balls to take care of errors.

RESULTS

Fixed distance = 10cm =0.1m

radius of ball 4= 6.94×10-3 m

Density of glycerine = 1.3×103 kg/m3

4 3 4
volume of ball 4= π r = *π(6.94×10-3)3 =1.4×10-6 m3
3 3

Mass of ball 4 = 0.011669 kg

0.011669
Density of ball= −6
=8335kg/m3
1.4 ×10

TABLE OF RESULTS.

Balls Diameter diameter time radius r2/ ×10-5 v/ms-1

d/ mm d/m t/ s r /×10-3 m m²
1 7.76 0.00776 1.32 3.88 15.05 0.076
2 10.94 0.01094 1.76 5.47 29.92 0.057
3 11.73 0.01173 1.56 5.87 34.46 0.064
4 13.87 0.01387 5.77 6.94 48.16 0.017
5 14.55 0.01455 8.54 7.28 52.99 0.012
 A Graph Of r2/ x10-5 m2 against v/ ms-1
0.08

0.07
y = -0.0018x + 0.1105
0.06

0.05
v/ms-1

0.04

0.03

0.02

0.01

0
10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60
r2/ ×10-5 m²
-

CALCULATIONS

From the equation derived from the theory,

2 g ( σ −ρ ) 2
v= r
9η

According this equation to, y=mx+c

2 g ( σ −ρ )
m (gradient) = ,where g is acceleration due to gravity
9η

σ is the density of steel

ρ is the density of the fluid- in this case glycerin

from graph, gradient m =-0.5802, therefore

2 g(σ−ρ)
η=
9m
 2 × 9.8 ( 9262.15 – 1.3 ×103 )
η= =
9 (o .5802)

Therefore the viscosity of glycerin,η = 23.24 Ns/m2 at 250C

DISCUSSION
Viscosity refers to the degree of internal friction in a fluid. A highly viscous fluid is the one which possess high
resistance on the motion of a body moving through it. Consider the equation proposed by Strokes, that is;r²=
9η
vt
2 g ( σ −ρ )
Viscosity of a liquid is directly proportional to the square of the radius but inversely proportional to the velocity of
the sphere through it.
From the results obtained, it was observed that for the initial three stages of readings taking, the radius of the ball
bearing decreased with an increase in velocity. It can be deduced that the decrease in the size of the ball bearings
caused a decrease in the viscous drag of glycerin on the ball bearings and hence moved more and more smoothly
with increasing velocities. But for the velocities obtained for the third ball bearing, the trend deviated. With a
decrease in the size and hence the viscous drag on the ball bearings, its velocity was expected to increase but
decreased. This can be attributed to changes of stable conditions around the set-up such as the continuous
increase air bubbles in the glycerin and decrease in temperature which can increase the density of the glycerin
reducing the velocity of the ball bearing through it. Also this could be blamed on shape caused by the corrosion of
the steel balls that distorted the mass value as well as smoothness of steel ball hence reduce the velocity by
increasing the impact of the viscous drag. When the gradient is replaced into equation with the terminal velocity
values also in place, the radius values were corresponding to the velocities for most of the values.

SOURCES OF ERROR:
1. Error may be due impurities present in the glycerin
2. Error may be due to presence of air bubbles in the glycerin.
3. Error may be due to some of the ball bearings not having streamlined surfaces (have rough surfaces)

PRECAUTION:
1. It was ensured that before the experiment was carried out, the glycerin was free of air bubbles.
2. All parts of the viscometer in direct contact with the ball bearings including the cylinder was properly
cleaned to ensure visibility during movement of the ball.
3. It was ensured that parallax error was avoided when measuring the fixed distance.
4. The temperature was kept constant throughout the experiment.
5. Before measurements were recorded, the ball was run up and down the tube at least once to improve
the homogeneity of the samples and its temperature uniformity.

CONCLUSION:
From the results obtained from the calculation it can be concluded that for any spherical body moving down a
liquid, as the size (square of the radius) increases, the viscous drag i.e. viscosity of the liquid increase to decrease
the velocity of the body. Hence the viscosity of a liquid depends on the shape and the velocity of the falling body.
The terminal velocity of the ball bearings falling through glycerin is small enough for it to be reached before
turbulence occurs, and its measurement provides a method of determining the viscosity of such a liquid (glycerin).
The viscosity of glycerine was determined to be 23.24 Ns/m2

REFERENCES
1. Raymond A.Serway, Jerry S.Faughn (2003); College Physics Sixth (6th) Edition, published by Thomson
Learning company, Canada, page 285-292.
 2. Raymond A Serway (1998), Principles of Physics, Second (2nd) Edition, Harcourt College Publishers, Forth
Worth, U.S.A.page 425-430.

3. Nelkon M and Parker P(1995);Advanced Level Physics Seventh(7th)Edition, Published by Longman

International Education, Oxford,U.K. Page 711.

4. Fluid Mechanics, L. D. Landau, Pergamon (Oxford), 1959 (QA 901)