Poise to Pascal-Second Converter
Convert dynamic viscosity between poise (CGS), pascal-second (SI) and centipoise (laboratory). 1 P = 0.1 Pa·s = 100 cP.
1 P = 0.1 Pa·s
SI unit of dynamic viscosity.
Water @ 20 °C ≈ 1 cP.
Note: Poise is from the CGS system; Pa·s is the SI unit. This tool uses exact SI factors.
Conversion formulas
1 P = 0.1 Pa·s
1 cP = 0.001 Pa·s
Pa·s = P × 0.1
P = Pa·s ÷ 0.1
cP = Pa·s × 1000 = P × 100
These relations come from the definition of poise: 1 P = 1 dyn·s/cm². Converting dynes to newtons and centimeters to meters gives 0.1 N·s/m² = 0.1 Pa·s.
Example
A lab report gives a viscosity of 4.8 P. Convert it to SI (Pa·s):
Pa·s = 4.8 × 0.1 = 0.48 Pa·s
cP = 0.48 × 1000 = 480 cP
This is a typical value for syrups or oils at room temperature.
Poise → Pa·s → cP table
| Poise (P) | Pa·s | Centipoise (cP) |
|---|
Rounded to 3 significant figures for quick field use.
Poise vs Pascal-second
Poise (P) is the CGS unit for dynamic viscosity, used in older rheology literature. The SI prefers pascal-second (Pa·s). Because many lab viscometers output in centipoise (cP), a practical tool must handle all three.
When do you need this converter?
- When you have legacy food / cosmetic / polymer data in poise.
- When your CFD / process simulation requires SI (Pa·s).
- When you must report viscosity to a customer who expects cP (most common in labs).
Temperature matters
Viscosity is highly temperature-dependent. This converter assumes the value is already measured at the target temperature. If you change temperature, you must re-measure (or use a viscosity/temperature model).
Formula (LaTeX) + variables + units
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1 P = 0.1 Pa·s 1 cP = 0.001 Pa·s Pa·s = P × 0.1 P = Pa·s ÷ 0.1 cP = Pa·s × 1000 = P × 100
Pa·s = 4.8 × 0.1 = 0.48 Pa·s cP = 0.48 × 1000 = 480 cP
- No variables provided in audit spec.
- NIST — Weights and measures — nist.gov · Accessed 2026-01-19
https://www.nist.gov/pml/weights-and-measures - NIST — SI units — nist.gov · Accessed 2026-01-19
https://www.nist.gov/pml/owm/metric-si/si-units
Last code update: 2026-01-19
- Initial audit spec draft generated from HTML extraction (review required).
- Verify formulas match the calculator engine and convert any text-only formulas to LaTeX.
- Confirm sources are authoritative and relevant to the calculator methodology.