The effect of an electric field on the viscosity of liquids. II

Abstract

To obtain the true effect of an electric field on the viscosity of liquids measurements must be made with alternating fields whose frequency lies within a certain range. As the effect is very small a very sensitive method of measurements of viscosity must be devised and various temperature effects must be eliminated. Apparatus and methods are described which allow comparative viscosities to be consistently measured, with and without field, to within a few parts in a million. With this disposition it has been shown that for non-polar benzene there is no effect as large as 1 part in 100,000, even with the highest applied fields. With polar liquids, however, there is a true, but small, increase of viscosity proportional to the square of the field. A brief theoretical discussion is given, in which it is shown that electrostriction cannot be responsible for the effect.