Determining Viscosity of a Liquid with Smartphone Sensors: A Classroom-Friendly Approach Using Damped Oscillations

2026/05/06 by Sanjoy Kumar Pal, Pradipta Panchadhyayee · 1 voice · 2 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #physics.ed-ph

paper · pdf · doi:10.1119/5.0245324

Abstract

This study presents a classroom-friendly method for measuring the coefficient of viscosity of a liquid using a smartphone s accelerometer sensor. A metallic ball tied with a spring-mass system and submerged in mustard oil undergoes damped oscillations due to viscous forces. The Phyphox app is used to record the temporal variation of acceleration, from which the damping constant is calculated to determine the coefficient of viscosity of the oil. The experimentally obtained value is further validated using the Tracker app, and this value is shown to be in close agreement with the standard literature. This method provides an accurate, low-cost experiment ideal for educational settings, utilizing smartphone sensors for viscosity measurement.

Citations

• Determination of the Acceleration due to Gravity by Studying the Magnet’s Motion Through a Conducting Pipe
• Study of the effect of electromagnetic damping force on a magnet oscillating near a non-ferromagnetic conducting plate
• Smartphone-based measurement of magnetic force and demonstration of Newton third law of motion
• LiDAR based determination of spring constant using smartphones
• Determination of the magnetic moment of a magnet by letting it fall through a conducting pipe

Cited by

• Utilizing Optic Fiber Interferometry in Forced Vibration Experimentation for Educational Purposes

Discussions

• Sanjoy Kumar Pal, Pradipta Panchadhyayee: Determining Viscosity of a Liquid with Smartphone Sensors: A Classroom-Friendly Approach Using Damped Oscillations https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.08227 https://ar [bsky, 0 points, 0 comments]

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