Measuring Viscosity with a Levitating Magnet: Application to Complex Fluids

As an experimental project proposed to students in fourth year of university, a viscometer was developed, consisting of a small magnet levitating in a viscous fluid. The viscous force acting on the magnet is directly measured: viscosities in the range 10-10[superscript 6] mPa s are obtained. This experiment is used as an introduction to complex fluids and soft matter physics. (Contains 1 table, 7 figures, and 7 footnotes.)