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SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/aero-viscosity

In aerodynamics, what does a fluid's viscosity describe?

Its stickiness, or resistance to flowing.

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  1. How heavy it is
  2. How hot it is
  3. How sticky it is, or how it resists flowing ✔

Why: Honey is more viscous than water. Air is viscous too, just a little. The air touching a wing sticks to it, which is one reason air causes drag.

Huh, didn't know that: Engineers call the thin layer of slowed-down air next to a surface the boundary layer.

The dad joke
Why was the honey always late? It was too viscous to get going.
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References

Answer: How sticky it is, or how it resists flowing. Honey is more viscous than water. Air is viscous too, just a little. The air touching a wing sticks to it, which is one reason air causes drag.

  1. Boundary Layer, NASA Glenn Beginner's Guide to Aeronautics www1.grc.nasa.gov/beginners-guide-to-aeronautics/boundary-layer
    the viscosity , or stickiness, and the compressibility , or springiness, of the fluid
    Checked 2026-10-10.

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